Kasaragod: Hosdurg police booked 200 members of two mosque committees for taking out unauthorised processions to mark Eid-e-Milad, which brought traffic in Kanhangad town to a standstill for over two and a half hours.

Members of the Manikoth Jamaat Committee and Arangadi Jamaat Committee were booked under unlawful assembly and obstruction of public way under Sections 189(2), 189(3), 285, and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Police said permission had been granted only to the Balla Kadappuram and Meenapees Jamaat Committees to hold processions through the town, with the condition that the two rallies cross Kanhangad before noon. It was decided that the Balla Kadappuram rally would pass first, followed by the Meenapees rally, both using the Kottachery flyover.

However, the two committees failed to stick to the schedule. As traffic congestion was already building up by noon, the Arangadi and Manikoth rallies also entered the town illegally, paralysing movement across all roads. Traffic remained blocked for more than two and a half hours before normalcy was restored, police said.