Shopian (Jammu and Kashmir), Sep 9 - A complete shutdown was observed in this tense town in Jammu and Kashmir on the first day of an indefinite strike Wednesday, a day after the finding of the body of an activist fighting for justice after the rape and murder of two women May 30.

Protests rocked the town as life was thrown out of gear and shops, other businesses and schools remained closed. Transport was also off the roads. There was thin attendance in government offices, an official said.

Police said the situation was tense but no untoward incident occurred after the body of Mohammed Hussain Zargar, 42, a property dealer, was discovered Tuesday in an orchard. Zargar was picked up by some unknown people Saturday and had been missing since then.

The alleged murder triggered fresh protests in the town 50 km south of Srinagar.

Shopian has been on the boil after two women -- Asiya Jan, 17, and her 22-year-old sister-in-law Neelofar -- were found dead near a stream in their village near here May 30.

Zargar was one of the activists of the Shopian Majlis-e-Mashawarat Committee formed to fight for justice in the rape-murder case.

'Mohammed Hussain Zargar was a pro-active member of the Majlis,' committee president Mohammed Shafi Khan told IANS.

Khan said it was suspected he had been picked up by the Special Operations Group of the Kashmir police. 'But police have denied it.