FAISALABAD, Jan 18: Seven people were injured when an Alam procession in connection with Ashura was attacked by around two dozen hoodlums in the vicinity of Ghulam Mohammadabad police station here on Friday.

Though three attackers were later taken into custody, the matter resolved amicably when both the parties promised maintaining peace and tranquillity in the days to come.

The hoodlums armed with clubs and axes attacked the procession soon after it emerged from the residence of Qasim Husain Qureshi in Ghausiaabad. They resorted to stone-pelting and thrashing the mourners with clubs beside aerial firing to spread panic. Imdad, Ashiq Hussain, Amjad and four others sustained injuries. One of them received an axe wound and was immediately taken to the hospital by rescuers.

Locals said that members of the banned outfit, Sipah-e-Sahaba, had obstructed the procession last year also. The police, however, did not take stern security steps and not even a single policeman was deployed there despite recurrence of such an untoward incident was likely.

Later, SHO Akhtar Saeed told Dawn that the matter had been resolved amicably after both the parties tendered their undertakings to maintain peace during Muharram. He said no case had been registered against any one.