SRINAGAR: Muslims offered Eid-ul-Fitr prayers in Srinagar and other parts of the Kashmir Valley Friday as authorities placed separatist leaders under house arrest to ensure that law and order was maintained.
Reports say more than 30 people have been wounded in clashes with the police and paramilitaries after Eid prayers.
Large gatherings were seen at Eidgah and Hazratbal in Srinagar where people greeted each other after the prayers. Children were at the forefront of the festivities.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah offered prayers at the Hazratbal shrine on the banks of the Dal Lake in Srinagar. (Read What Happened Here)
Separatist leaders Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Muhammad Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah were placed under house arrest since Thursday.
Geelani had asked people to protest against the execution of Afzal Guru in February and also against the killings of several youth by the security forces in recent months.
He had also announced that he would offer prayers at the Hazratbal shrine while the Mirwaiz had planned to offer prayers at the Eidgah grounds in the city.
Immediately after prayers, some youths indulged in stone pelting at the police and paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) deployed to maintain law and order in Eidgah, Hyderpora and Sakidafar areas of Srinagar.
Police fired teargas shells and baton-charged the protestors to disperse them.
Reports of clashes between stone-pelting youths and the security forces also came in from Sopore town.
(IANS, with additional inputs)
