Srinagar: Clashes erupted in at least five districts of the Kashmir valley immediately after the Eid prayers today. In Srinagar, youths clashed with the police and CRPF personnel outside the idgah where 15,000 to 20,000 persons had assembled for prayers. Hundreds of youths, waving black flags, tried to hold a march but were intercepted by the police.

Srinagar: Clashes erupted in at least five districts of the Kashmir valley immediately after the Eid prayers today. In Srinagar, youths clashed with the police and CRPF personnel outside the idgah where 15,000 to 20,000 persons had assembled for prayers. Hundreds of youths, waving black flags, tried to hold a march but were intercepted by the police.

The biggest gathering was witnessed at the Hazratbal shrine. The Sonawar and Soura shrines in the heart of the city too saw the faithful turn up in large numbers. For the past several years, protests on Eid have become a routine affair with large gatherings instantly turning into protest rallies. In other parts of the state, the celebrations remained low-key and austere.

Local residents said the police fired tear smoke shells to disperse the protesters, who chanted pro-militant slogans and carried posters of slain militants, including that of Islamist militant Zakir Musa.

Inspector General of Police Muneer Khan said there were protests in Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Shopian and Baramulla districts. He described these as “small incidents”, claiming that the situation was “well under control”. He said only a few civilians and a CRPF jawan had sustained minor injuries, a claim that was contested by local residents, who said several civilians had been injured in north Kashmir’s Sopore sub-district. Several separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, had been put under house arrest, by the authorities that feared their presence at large Eid gatherings could provoke violence. Mohammad Yasin Malik , JKLF chairman, was taken into preventive custody and lodged at the Central Jail, Srinagar.