Curbs imposed in Srinagar, Budgam districts to prevent people from taking out processions

Residents claimed that police fired tear gas and pellets to disperse the mourners.

Authorities in Kashmir imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar and Budgam districts on Sunday to prevent people from taking out Muharram processions to mark the last day of the 10-day mourning period, officials said.

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Muharram processions have been banned by the Jammu and Kashmir administration this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Police also used force to break up processions in Alamgari Bazar-Zadibal area of Old City in Srinagar where hundreds gathered to mourn on the occasion. Residents claimed that police fired tear gas and pellets to disperse the mourners.

“It was a very small procession compared to thousands of people which would gather on this occasion. There was due regard of sanitisation, social distancing and wearing of masks but still the police lobbed tear gas shells and used pellets to push us into the inner areas,” a resident Raashid Ahmad said.

“Is it wise to push people into congested areas if Covid-19 is the reason to ban such gatherings? It would have been better to allow people to remain in open areas like the main road where social distancing would be possible. This is a religious and sentimental issue, we are mourning and the administration can’t suppress the sentiment by military measures,” he said.

Mostly people confined themselves to their local Imam Baras, mosques or homes to observe Muharram.

Srinagar senior superintendent of police Haseeb Mughal said they have been asking people to observe the occasion inside their homes amid the pandemic. He said while many have adhered to the guidelines, youngsters have not been listening. “People tried to come out at around a dozen of places. Many policemen were injured as they were hit by stones. We had to use mild force,” the SSP said.

“Overall situation was peaceful except small incidents at many places. People have been trying to come out on road even to protest but there has been no major incident,” he added.

The administration has imposed restrictions under Section 144 in Budgam and Srinagar’s Lal Chowk and Old City areas like Zadibal.

Security forces laid concertina wires and barricades to block roads and stop mass movement of people in certain places. No groups or gatherings were allowed by the authorities.

“There were concertina wires on roads from Khanyar onwards to Alamgari Bazar,” said Muzaffar Ahmad, a government employee in Old City.

In central Kashmir’s Budgam district, despite the restrictions, a sizable procession was taken out on the road towards main-chowk. People wore masks and marched as they sang elegies in the memory of Imam Hussain.

“Although there were restrictions, police did not interfere to break up the procession. There was no leader to lead it. However, this is for the first time that there was no Zulginah (bringing out a horse with the procession),” said a Budgam resident, Bilal Ahmad.

On Saturday, around 18 people were injured after police fired teargas shells and pellets to disperse a Muharram procession in Bemina locality of Srinagar. The photos of pellet injured youngsters, some in their eyes, have flooded social media enraging residents.

Police has said that mild force was used as mourners defied restrictions in view of Covid-19.

Peoples Democratic Party has strongly condemned the use of force on peaceful Muharram processions in Kashmir, terming such action as blatant display of barbarism.

“Militating against a peaceful religious gathering has reflected the government’s iron fisted approach adopted in Kashmir without any compunction. It has proved beyond doubt that religion is being demonised, democratic dissent criminalised and cruelty is being normalised in Kashmir,” said PDP spokesman Syed Suhail Bukhari.

The month of Muharram is remembered in Muslim history for the sacrifice of Imam Hussain and his companions in a seventh-century battle in Karbala, present day Iraq. Many Muslims used to take out mourning processions on select routes in Srinagar on 8th and 10th day of the month before the 1990s, However, they have been banned since militancy erupted in J&K.