Mourners get police batons in city centre

Srinagar: At least a dozen people on Wednesday were injured when Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Police used batons and lobbed teargas canisters to break up Muharram processions in city centre here.

City correspondent said scores of mourners led by Hurriyat Conference (G) leader, Nisar Hussain Rather tried to take out Muharram procession from Jehangir Chowk this afternoon.

Carrying religious banners and shouting pro-Islam slogans, the mourners tried to march towards the city centre were administrations had imposed curfew. However, when the procession reached near Budshah Bridge, CRPF and police intercepted the mourners and asked to them to retrieve. As the mourners offered stiff resistance and tried to break the cordon, the government forces resorted to baton charge and fired numerous teargas canisters to disperse them. At least two mourners suffered injuries in the action.

The action set off violent clashes between the forces and the mourners and the pitched battles continued for over an hour.

Later, some mourners regrouped and tried to take out a procession from Regal Chowk where curfew was in place. Police resorted to cane charge to chase away the mourners.

Around 1500 hours, eyewitnesses said, a group of mourners attempted to take out a procession from Shaheed Gunj area of the city.

When the mourners reached near old secretariat, police and paramilitary forces lobbed several teas smoke shells to disperse them. The forces also thrashed several mourners. At least, ten mourners suffered injuries in the action while several were arrested.

Earlier in the day, strict curfew was clamped in the areas falling under Maisuma, Kralkhud, Kothibagh, Shaheed Gunj and Ram Munshi Bagh police stations, which used to be the route of 8th Muharram procession before the onset of militancy.

A police spokesman here said that “some miscreants” in the afternoon attempted to defy the curfew restrictions and assembled near DC Office Shaheedgunj and Chinkral Mohalla- Srinagar, which was foiled by the timely intervention of Police. “Miscreants were chased away,” the spokesman said.