Srinagar, Dec 26 - Police used batons and tear smoke shells to disperse a Shia mourning procession here Saturday.

Over two dozen people were injured and an equal number taken into custody when Shia mourners gathered in the uptown Pratap Park here, adjacent to city centre Lal Chowk, to take out a procession commemorating the martyrdom of the Prophet's grandchildren in Karbala (Iraq) 1,360 years ago.

Since the eruption of armed violence here in 1989, the authorities have not allowed the Shia mourning procession which was traditionally carried out here on 8th of Muharram according to the Muslim calendar.

Tension gripped Lal Chowk as traffic halted in the area because of the clash between the Shia mourners and police.

"The protesters tried to violate the law and police had to intervene to restore order," a senior police officer told IANS. (IANS)