Srinagar, Sept. 19 -- Many political leaders on Thursday claimed that they were put under house arrest to prevent them from visiting Batengo village in Sopore to condole the demise of former Hurriyat Conference chairman Abdul Gani Bhat. Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq also alleged that the family of Abdul Gani Bhat were forced to perform his last rites during night only. Professor Bhat passed away on Wednesday evening. He was buried at his native place at midnight after the authorities told the family that burial won't be allowed on Thursday. Earlier the family had conveyed that the former Hurriyat chairman's burial will be performed on Thursday morning. "It pains me beyond words that the authorities compelled the family of Prof Sb to conclude his janazah hurriedly. I have been locked inside my home, and being denied the right to walk with him on his final journey. My association with him spanned 35 years of friendship and guidance. So many others,too, longed to pay their last respects. To be deprived of even the solace of participating in his janazah and bid him a final goodbye is an unbearable cruelty," Mirwaiz wrote on social networking site X. Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister termed the former Hurriyat chairman as a courageous leader who espoused dialogue. "I'm saddened to hear about the demise of senior Kashmiri political leader & academician professor Abdul Gani Bhat Sb. Our political ideologies were poles apart but I will always remember him as a very civil person. He had the courage to espouse the cause of dialogue when many believed violence was the only way forward and this resulted in him meeting the then PM Vajpayee ji & deputy PM Advani ji. May Professor Bhat sb find place in Jannat. My condolences to his family & loved ones," Omar Abdullah wrote on X. Omar also criticised the LG administration for putting Kashmiri leaders under house arrest to prevent them from visiting the house of the former Hurriyat chairman. "Are security forces so scared that they don't even allow people to go for condolence. On one hand we are saying everything is fine and the situation is normal and a new J&K has been formed. But we don't have trust in our own people. What would have happened if Mehbooba Mufti and Sajjad Lone would have visited the house of Professor Bhat to offer condolences with the family. Thesesteps aren't a good thing for J&K." Former J&K chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti termed the house arrest of leaders undemocratic and said BJP has no interest in peace in Kashmir. "The decision to place the political leadership under house arrest today, simply to stop us from visiting Sopore to offer condolences on the demise of Professor Abdul Gani Bhat, lays bare the harsh and undemocratic reality in Jammu and Kashmir. What unfolded at Hazratbal Dargah the eruption of spontaneous, raw public anger was not just an isolated incident. It was a loud, unmistakable message from a people pushed to the edge," Mehbooba Mufti wrote on X. She said that the BJP remains wilfully blind to this truth, refusing to learn anything from the deep anguish and suppressed emotions that have been building for years now . "It is becoming increasingly clear that the BJP has no interest in peace or healing in Kashmir. Instead, they seem determined to keep the region in a constant state of turmoil weaponising pain and unrest for political mileage across the rest of the country. This cynical approach is not just irresponsible; it is dangerous and utterly reprehensible." Peoples Conference chairman and legislator Handwara, Sajad Lone, said he wasn't allowed to say final good bye to professor Gani. "I have been put under house arrest in order to prevent me from visiting Botingoo, the ancestral village of Professor Gani sahib. I fail to understand what is the need for this. Professor Sahib was a pacifist and literally long retired. A final goodbye is something which we all deserved," he said....