Moderate Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was placed under house arrest on Saturday, a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
Mirwaiz has been put under house arrest for maintaining law and order as separatists have called for a complete shutdown on Sunday, officials said.
A posse of police personnel has been deployed outside the main gate of his residence in Nigeen area of the city.
Mirwaiz said on Twitter that the government is in a panic mode ahead of the Prime Minister's visit.
"Ahead of @narendramodi visit, panic buttons pressed by the authoritarian state and control tightened as searches and CASO conducted even in Lal Chowk! Today morning I was put under #HouseArrest !" he tweeted.
Modi is scheduled to visit all three regions of the state on Sunday during which he will lay foundation stones for several projects.