KOLKATA: Shia Muslims in the city and its adjoining areas took out processions Friday on the occasion of Muharram, braving intermittent rain, a senior police officer said.
The devotees, carrying tazias, black flags and traditional arms, were seen beating their chests in a ceremonial mourning across the metropolis.
Several clerics and leaders, including Trinamool Congress MP Idris Ali, had appealed to the devotees Thursday to refrain from taking out armed processions.
Maulana Mohammed Shafique Qasmi, the Imam of Nakhoda Masjid, said there was "no mention of armed processions during Muharram is the Islamic laws".
"The city's Muslim-dominated areas Park Circus, Rajabazar, Kidderpore, Iqbalpur, Mominpur and Metiabruz witnessed huge processions amid strict police arrangements to ward off any possible untoward incident," the officer said.
The state administration has taken precautionary measures and put up adequate police arrangements in Kolkata and other districts to ensure peaceful processions, he added.
Muharram is a day of bereavement, when Shia Muslims observe fasts, take out rallies and pray in remembrance of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussain, who was martyred centuries ago at Karbala in Iraq.
Sunni Muslims usually commemorate the day through voluntary fasting.