NEW DELHI, June 3: Kashmiri hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani was put under house arrest in Srinagar on Tuesday to prevent him from travelling to Amritsar where he was to address the commemoration function of the Indian army assault on the Golden Temple, reports said.

Dal Khalsa, a Sikh party, invited Mr Geelani to be the chief guest at Wednesday’s function in Amritsar, home to Sikhdom’s holiest shrine.

Reports said police asked him not to stir out of his home without permission.

Mr Geelani is backed by most Muslim militant groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, and the move to prevent him from attending the anniversary function of the June 5 assault of 1984 revealed lingering Indian fears of Sikh-Kashmiri camaraderie.

Zeenews said a police officer in Srinagar confirmed Mr Geelani was under house arrest, but did not say why.

“I was invited by Dal Khalsa, but yesterday police asked me not to leave my home,” Mr Geelani told a news conference at his residence, which was guarded by policemen.