Life paralysed in Kashmir due to strike called by Hurriyat

While shops and business establishments remained closed in rest of the Valley in view of the strike, authorities imposed restrictions on people's movement in downtown as a precautionary measure, officials said.

Police and paramilitary troops sealed the old city and put up barbed wire on main roads to prevent people from moving on the streets.

Locals claimed that curfew has been imposed in the area. Police, however, denied their claims but said prohibitory orders were strictly enforced.

The hardline faction of Hurriyat headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani had given the strike call to protest against the conviction of Hurriyat leader Farida Behanji and five others in the blast case that killed 13 persons and left 38 injured on May 21, 1996.

"The Indian judiciary is playing partisan and biased role. The Kashmiri people are being targeted here, while those accused of Gujarat riots are roaming free," Geelani alleged in a statement.