National Conference leader Hilal Lone was on Monday arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for delivering a speech during the campaigning for the District Development Council elections in Bandipora last year, The Hindu reported. Hilal Lone is the son of senior National Conference leader and MP Akbar Lone.

“Hilal Lone has been booked under Section 13 of the UAPA, besides Sections 505 [intent to incite community to commit offence], 153-A [indulge in vilification or attacks upon the religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc of any particular group or class] and 188 [disobedience] of the Indian Penal Code,” Inspector General of Police Vijay Kumar told the newspaper.

Lone was arrested from the MLA hostel sub-jail in Srinagar where was under preventive detention for the past two months. He has been shifted to a police station in Bandipora’s Hajin in north Kashmir.

A police official told PTI that the case pertains to a speech Lone made during a public rally while campaigning for the polls in Hajin. Referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “Gupkar gang” jibe, the NC leader had said: “The real gang is the one that demolished the Babri Masjid and rioted in Delhi”.

On November 17, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had termed the People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration an “unholy global gathbandhan [alliance]”, referring it to as a gang. “Either the Gupkar Gang swims along with the national mood or else the people will sink it,” he had said.

Hours later, former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, part of the alliance, had criticised the Union home minister’s remarks.

The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration, or Gupkar Alliance, is a tie-up of six parties, which was formed in October with the agenda of reinstating the now abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, which provided special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. The alliance contested the DDC polls.