Jammu-Kashmir: Protesters clash with police on Eid

Police used teargas to disperse crowds after locals resorted to stone-pelting in Anantnag.

Kashmiri muslims pray at Eidgah (a ground) during Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations in Bandipora. (SourceL Express Photo By Shuaib Masoodi)

On Eid-Ul-Fitr, clashes were reported between locals and security personnel in at least three places in Jammu-Kashmir. Police used teargas to disperse crowds after locals resorted to stone-pelting in Anantnag, according to news channel NDTV. Clashes were also reported in Sopore and Srinagar, it added.

Meanwhile, crowds gathered in huge numbers to offer prayers at Eidgahs (prayer ground) and mosques. The biggest gathering was witnessed at Hazratbal shrine where more than 50,000 faithful offered prayers, officials said.

They said the second largest gathering was held at the Eidgah in the old city in which more than 40,000 people participated. Big gatherings were also reported from Sonawar and Soura Shrines in the heart of the city, they said, adding that similar gatherings were held at all districts headquarters and major towns of the Valley.

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The authorities have placed top separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, under house arrest, fearing that their presence at large Eid gatherings could spark violence, the officials said. JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik has been taken into preventive custody and lodged at Central Jail, Srinagar.

Last week, a Jammu-Kashmir policeman was lynched outside Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid while he was on duty. Deputy Superintendent Mohammed Ayub Pandith was allegedly taking pictures of those visiting the mosque before he was attacked by an irate mob.

With PTI inputs.

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