Srinagar, Jun 26: Eid-ul-Fitr was today celebrated across Kashmir as people thronged mosques, shrines and Eidgahs for special prayers but a few incident of stone-pelting and clashes between protestors and security forces were reported in the Valley.
Muslims from all walks of life started making a beeline to Eidgahs (prayer ground) or mosques for offering Eid prayers as a thanksgiving for the month-long fasting of Ramazan.
The biggest gathering was witnessed at Hazratbal shrine where more than 50,000 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.
Barring a few incidents of stone-pelting after the prayers, the situation in the Valley remained peaceful.
At least 10 protesters were injured in the clashes in Anantnag, Sopore, Kulgam, Pulwama and Pattan towns, the state police said.
A mob resorted to stone-pelting at Janglat Mandi in Anantnag town immediately after the prayers.
The police burst tear-gas shells to disperse the mob. The sporadic clashes continued in Anantnag for over an hour.
Clashes were also reported after the congregational Eid prayers in Sopore and Pattan towns of Baramulla district.
“The security forces are exercising maximum restraint while dealing with the stone-pelting mob at these places,” a senior police officer here said.
Eid prayers elsewhere in the valley ended peacefully.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti offered Eid prayers at a mosque in the high-security Sonawar area.
A huge number of devotees were seen offering Eid prayers at the Hazratbal shrine and other mosques and Eidgahs in the valley.
For security reasons, many ministers, senior civil and police officers offered prayers at the district police lines mosque in the city here at 6.30 am.
The Kashmir Inspector General of Police on Sunday issued an advisory, asking the VIPs to offer Eid prayers only at protected places and avoid public places.
The authorities have placed secessionists 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.
