About 40 people were injured in Srinagar on August 29 as the police fired tear gas shells and pellets to disperse crowd that had gathered for a Muharram procession. The police said that the locals had violated coronavirus protocols and carried out the procession.

A witness said that nearly 500 people were a part of the procession in Srinagar’s Khomeini Chowk area, adding that the procession was peaceful and there was no stone-pelting.

Srinagar Senior Superintendent of Police Haseeb Mughal said that the procession and other religious gatherings had been banned in view of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

‘The police had used minimum force to keep the situation under control. When there is an apprehension of law and order, when they are pelting on the force, that was done to restore the highway and to keep it through,’ he said.

‘Why does the police use force? It is to keep law and order under control and we have used the minimum force,’ the top cop said.

A 16-year-old-boy was severely those injured in the firing after at least four pellets had hit his right eye and damaged his optic nerve. Another pellet caused a hole in his right eye.

‘I can’t see from this eye,’ he said of his left eye. ‘The vision comes and goes.’ Detailed account by @yashjournals for @tkwmag of what happened in a Muharram procession in #Kashmir today. https://t.co/DRMK1ghMCP

— Fahad Shah (@pzfahad) August 29, 2020

On Thursday, the Supreme Court had refused permission for Muharram processions across the country, saying it would ‘lead to chaos and targeting of a particular community amid the coronavirus pandemic.’

Jammu and Kashmir has reported over 35,000 coronavirus cases and 685 fatalities due to the deadly virus so far.

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