Shia Mourners thrashed in 8^th Moharram Procession

JKIM president injured, 200 held

Srinagar, Jan 18:  About 200 mourners were today arrested when they tried to take out Muharram processions from different areas of civil Lines area of Srinagar city.
Police lobbed teargas shells and resorted to baton charge to disperse mourners, who gave slip to the police and reached Dalgate, despite a ban on Muharram processions since 1989. 
More than a dozen mourners, including senior Hurriyat Conference leader and president of Ittihadul Muslimeen, Moulana Masroor Abbas Ansari, were injured in the police action.
As a procession started from Exchange Road here this afternoon, the police swung into action and arrested about 200 mourners. Later, 80 more were taken into custody on Moulana Azad Road and other places in the city.
Similar attempts were prevented by the police, who have been deployed in strength at different places, particularly the routes being used by mourners to reach Dalgate Imambara.
A large number of police personnel were deployed at Dalgate and its adjoining areas since early this morning to prevent mourners to enter the area.

Later, a group of women staged a dharna at Dalgate main chowk for some time before dispersing peacefully.
The Intihadul Muslimeen (JKIM) has already filed a petition in the Jammu and Kashmir high court challenging the ban on Muharram processions in the city, calling it a violation of their fundamental rights.
The High Court issued a notice to the authorities seeking objections on the petition within two weeks but it did not say anything about processions being taken out today and on January 20 (8th and 10th day of Muharram month).

Ashoora Mourners Stopped From Taking Out Procession

Ansari House arrested, 60 hurt, 40 held

Srinagar, Jan 20: Atleast 40 persons who were part of thousands of mourners attempting to take out procession in groups were arrested by police on Sunday, the day of Youm-e-Ashoora.
60 others including mourners and media persons were injured in clashes across Valley on Sunday.
Official reports said 14 policemen were injured in clashes with mourners and mob at different places here. Police arrested more than 40 mourners who were attempting to take procession here. Mourners were forming groups to take out the procession which police didn’t allow.
Early Sunday morning more than 200 mourners tried to take out a procession from Maisuma here. As soon as they reached near KMD Ghanta-Ghar, Police swung into action and baton-charged them. The mourners however, showed stiff resistance and later police arrested many of them.
When the police Vehicle carrying the arrested persons reached near Ghanta-Ghar it turned turtle, eyewitnesses said. No one was injured in the incident.
Meanwhile, a group of more than 60 mourners led by the activists of Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM) , chanting pro-Islam and pro-freedom slogans, attempted to take out a procession on the MA Road here. However, the policemen present on the spot baton-charged the mourners, dispersing them. More than a dozen of mourners were arrested.
Six media persons, mostly photo journalists, and cameramen with different electronic media networks were injured during clashes between a mob and police in Shahr-e-Khaas here while six news gathering men of a local news agency were injured after mourners attacked the the police personnel in Shahr-e-Khaas here.
According to the reports at least a dozen policemen were injured in stone pelting and clashes between mob and cops at different places in Shahr-e-Khaas including Hawal and Gojawari. Police had to fire teargas shells and use colored water canons to disperse the mob that showed stiff resistance.
Additional forces of police and CRPF were deployed at many places across the city including Lal Chowk to avoid any untoward incident and prevent mourners from taking out the procession, police sources said.
The injured were rushed to different hospitals where their condition was stated to be normal.
Police had sealed many areas across city including Residency Road, Abi Guzar and Bund to prevent the mourners from taking out a procession. It is pertinent to mention that authorities have banned Muharram procession taken out from Abi Guzar, Dalgate here, after the eruption of turmoil in the Valley.

Abbas Ansari under house arrest in Kashmir

Srinagar, Jan 20: Senior Hurriyat Conference and Shia leader Moulana Mohammad Abbas Ansari was put under house arrest while 200 mourners were arrested when they tried to take out a procession against ban imposed on main Muharram procession by the authorities in the city.

Mr Ansari, who heads the Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), was put under the house arrest on January 18 morning to prevent him to lead the Muharram procession in the civil lines.
A Hurriyat Conference spokesman said Mr Ansari, former chairman of the amalgam, was not allowed to leave his Khankahi Sokhta house in the down town by police.
The JKIM has challenged the ban on the main Muharram processions in the city in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court and described it as a violation of their religious and fundamental rights.
However, the court gave two weeks time to authorities to response to the case.
Police resorted to baton charge to disperse mourners led by HC leaders at Lal Chowk, the nerve centre of the summer Capital.
However, the mourners clashed with the police insisting that they be allowed to move towards the down town in the procession.
Similar clashes were reported from other parts of the civil lines.
A large number of police personnel have been deployed at Abi-Guzar Imambara near here to prevent the shia mourners to take out the procession from there. All the roads leading to the Imambara were sealed by the police and nobody was being allowed to enter the area. Shia sect of Muslims was taking out procession on 8 and 10 days of muharram month through different routes before concluded at Imambada Zadibal and Khushalsar.
But to avoid any untoward incident during the procession, it was decided on the request of then Chief Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah in 1977 that Muharram procession would be taken out from Abi Guzar to Zadibal through old city However, in late 1989 the then Governor imposed ban on taking out these two processions and the ban was still on, the petition said.
The petition said the religious processions were being taken in the valley since 1527 when Sultan Mohammad Shah was king.
UNI