Youths clash with police, indulge in violence and arson
Violence erupted in Old City here on Friday as namajis coming out of Mecca masjid after completion of noon prayers clashed with police, burnt vehicles and attacked property in lanes and bylanes.
Mobs torched four cars and four motorcycles even as policemen in riot gear chased them in different directions from Charminar and lobbed teargas shells. A policeman sustained injuries, while some youths were caught hurling stones.
As news about violence spread, tension gripped the entire Old City, which had been witnessing frequent communal incidents beginning with burglary in the Lal Darwaza temple a month ago. Filing out of the mosque, slogan-shouting crowds surged towards the Bhagya Laxmi temple, which abuts Charminar. Alleged expansion plans of the temple had become a bone of contention between two communities.
Huge contingents of policemen, including that of Rapid Action Force, deployed there to meet any eventuality in the backdrop of escalated tension, prevented them a few feet away from the temple. After persuading them in vain to move back, police began caning them.
But agitated youths allegedly pelted stones, prompting the police to use teargas. The retreating mobs continued to hurl stones and went on the rampage, damaging both government and private vehicles on different routes.
Notwithstanding presence of large number of policemen at Gulzar House, they broke open fuel tanks of two cars parked near a shopping complex and burnt them. Meanwhile, thousands of youths gathered outside Mecca Masjid and protested against use of force and teargas shells.
As the situation appeared to be going out of hands, police lobbed teargas shells and made a lathicharge to disperse them. While the situation was brought under control within an hour at Charminar, violence spread to places such as Eithebar Chowk, Moghalpura, Talabkatta, Reinbazar, Yakutpura, Panjeshah and Syed Ali Chabutra where heavy stone pelting was reported. Home Minister P. Sabitha Indra Reddy warned that persons provoking people with statements would be dealt with firmly. She appealed to people to observe restraint and not to believe rumours. Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who withdrew support to the ruling Congress at the Centre and in the State after a spree of communal tensions, said the MIM would not be cowed down by use of force.
The instigation came from the illegal temple expansion which is prohibited by the government act that no illegal construction activity can come up within 100meters of the world heritage structure. The state government unnecessarily and unilateraly took the decision to allow the temple expansion inspite of High Court orders to maintain status quo. Atleast the political partes should have been taken into confidence before doing that.
The Police failed to handle anti social elements in the old city. They should show their efficiency in handling such anti-social elements and restore peace
Shame on you my "secular" countrymen. Keep on electing the same govt and then allow this menace to spread across India. Wake up and open your eyes.
This is a sad situation. In stead of having brotherly attitude towards each other people want to mix politics with religion. People who instigated those rioters must be put behind bars, they have been giving TV interviews rencently warning of such trouble.
If you can't withstand two lifeless structures erected touching each
other, How can we expect people to live in peace and harmony with each
other?
It seems like whenever elections come to Andhra Pradesh, Old city starts to experience Violence! The whole state knows the alliance between Congress and MIM. Whenever Congress is in trouble, MIM seems to take the responsibility of making Oldcity the centre of attention which makes the people of Hyderabad think about forgetting their other similarities and re-kindle their religious identity so that votes can be distributed on religious lines. Once the elections are done, its all good and politicians play the Democracy Drama and the lead the ordinary citizens to live in harmony until next elections. Seeing the changes in Oldcity for the last 20 years, I realize that many who are able to see this and have the resources, change their residence. MIM does as little as possible to make sure that the Muslim population does not move above the subsistence level, making sure to keep the situation exploitable at its free will!
OMG! When will we understand that our divided regional holdings are actually maintained by the politicians to keep safe their vote bank!
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