40 detained for taking out Muharram procession in J&K

At least 40 supporters of a constituent of moderate Hurriyat Conference were detained on Tuesday while trying to take out a Muharram procession in Abi Guzar area in Srinagar in violation of prohibitory orders.

A group of Shias under the aegis of Anjuman Shari'e Shian tried to take out the Ashura procession as part of the observance of Muharram from Abi Guzar locality in Lal chowk area, officials said.

As soon as the mourners came on Residency road, the supporters, led by Aga Syed Mujtaba, son of the president of Anjuman president Aga Syed Hassan, were bundled into waiting police vehicles and taken to Kothibagh police station.

Another group of mourners coming from Dalgate area were taken into custody at Maulana Azad road, the officials said.

Police also took another group of Shias into detention near Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters some distance away, they added.

A group of Shias led by Syed Imtiyaz of Tehreek-e-Wahdat Islami, a constituent of the hardline faction of Hurriyat, also tried to take out an Ashura procession but the police foiled their attempts, they said.

The state government has imposed a ban on Muharram processions in the heart of the city since eruption of militancy due to apprehensions that separatist organisations might use the religious occasion to gain political mileage.