Curfew was imposed in the town of Kishtwar in Jammu and Kashmir early on Sunday after local police arrested three people on sedition charges, The Indian Express reported. The three have been identified as AQ Mattoo and Firdous Bhagwan, two local Hurriyat leaders and Saifuddin Bhagwan, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoura. A fourth suspect, Qari Manzoor, escaped before he could be arrested, according to the report.

The curfew was imposed after 4 am following announcements calling local residents to organise protests against the police action during the day. Nearly 30 people were named in five separate First Information Reports by police for allegedly raising anti-India slogans during protests after Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed on July 8, according to the report. However, they were not arrested at first because of Eid and the Machail yatra, the report added.

Thousands of people have been affected by the violence and the disruption of normal life in the state for more than two months. The situation has also led to the deterioration of ties between India and Pakistan as India alleges Islamabad’s influence in the issue, and Pakistan has called for plebiscites in the region. Relations between the two neighbours worsened after a militant attack on an Indian Army base killed 18 soldiers on September 18 in the Uri sector of the state.