Srinagar, Mar 10 : The activists of a separatist group were baton charged by the Jammu and Kashmir police for defying the ban on taking out procession in Srinagar on the occasion of Eid-E-Milad-Un-Nabi.

Police stopped the activists of the Democratic Political Movement (DPM) in mid way and arrested around 40 members of the outfit.

"Today we were taking out a Milad-Un-Nabi procession, but unfortunately we were detained by the police mid way. They stopped us from taking our procession forward," said Mohammad Shafi Mir, General Secretary of the DPM.

The separatists were taking out a procession to celebrate Milad-Un-Nabi, the birthday of Islam's founder Prophet Mohammad.

The Jammu and Kashmir Government had banned Milad-Un-Nabi processions since outbreak of insurgency in the state in 1989.

Since then, people only offer prayers at mosques for restoration of peace in the region. (ANI)