Police detain Shiite mourners as they try to defy restrictions in Srinagar on the 8th day of Muharram.

Srinagar August 28 (PTK) Several Shia mourners were today detained for defying curfew with police using batons and teargas shells to foil repeated attempts by the community to take out processions to mark the eighth day of Muharram in Srinagar.

The Shia mourners were detained by the police at Jehangir Chowk, Batamaloo, Karan Nagar and Maulana Azad Road areas of the city, parts of which were placed under curfew by the authorities to thwart the traditional processions on the eighth day of Muharram, the first month of Islamic calendar, apprehending law and order problems, officials said.

Police used teargas shells and batons to disperse the mourners who were carrying black flags and chanting religious slogans, they said, adding that several mourners were detained.

Muharram processions through Lal Chowk and Dalgate were banned after the eruption of militancy in the Valley in 1989.(PTK)