Alam -- considered close to Syed Ali Geelani, chief of the hardline faction of the Hurriyat Conference -- is known as the mastermind of the current unrest in the Kashmir Valley. He was arrested from the Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Monday evening.

The arrest of the general secretary of the Geelani faction of the Hurriyat Conference is a severe blow to the 'Quit Kashmir Movement' of separatists, the senior official said.  Keeping Alam in Srinagar was fraught with serious consequences, he added. "In these circumstances, it would be prudent to shift him to Jammu," the official told IANS.

Several separatist leaders, including Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Ahmad Shah and Dukhtrain-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi, are already lodged in the Jammu jail.