Authorities use force to foil Muharram processions by Shia mourners in Srinagar

Srinagar: Police on Tuesday used force to foil the processions by members of the Shia community in Srinagar who came to mark the eighth day of the 10-day Muhurram mourning period, officials said.

Several members of the community were detained at various places in the city, they said.

The officials said a few members of the community tried to take out the processions but were barred by the police and they were later detained.

Witnesses said that heavy deployment of police and security forces was made in areas where there were apprehensions about the processions taking place.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said the police respects the religious sentiments of the public, but at the same time, it is their joint responsibility to defeat the ill designs of vested interests who try to disturb the peaceful atmosphere.

"We #respect the religious #sentiments and practices of all but at the same time it is also our joint #responsibility to defeat the ill designs of vested interest who try to disturb #peaceful atmosphere," the Kashmir Zone Police quoted the IGP as having said in its official Twitter handle

While the police said there were no restrictions anywhere in the city, barricades were put up at many places here to stop the mourners from taking out the processions.

The traditional Muharram procession, to mark the eighth day of the 10-day Muharram mourning period, used to pass through the areas of Abi Guzar, Lal Chowk and Dalgate areas, but has been banned since the eruption of militancy in 1990 as authorities maintain that the religious gathering has been used for propagating separatist politics.