A day after a mob thrashed an Imam’s brother and vandalised property at a mosque in Chapproli Banger village here, the Noida Police have arrested two men for allegedly instigating violence.
The Imam, Ziyauddin al Hussaini, has alleged that a group of men beat up his brother, Saba Hasan, called him a “Pakistani” and a “terrorist” and asked them to leave the State.
Following the incident, District Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar, B.N. Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Love Kumar held a meeting with members of the two communities and requested them to maintain peace and order in the village.
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Parking issue
“After the mob attack on the mosque in Chapproli Banger, we were shocked because people had turned a parking issue into a communal one. We called members of both the communities and took help from them to find a solution. We have ordered the Station House Officer to deploy additional security in the village so that nothing of this sort happens again,” said Mr. Kumar.
Based on the complaint filed by one Kalu Khan, the police have arrested two persons — Om Dutt and Surender — under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the IPC. Five others have been detained for questioning.
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“The SSP has given us an assurance about our safety and we are confident that nothing of this sort will happen in the future. The attack has traumatised us, but we will recover with time,” said Hussaini.
Last week, Suresh Chauhan, a village elder who often acts as a mediator during inter-community gatherings, had called a meeting to discuss the problems faced by the people due to the presence of the mosque, which they claimed was a madrasa, in the area.
The meeting was scheduled at 9 a.m., but some residents chose not to attend it. “We were asked by our sources to avoid the meeting as the issue had flared up and a crowd had started assembling at the community centre,” Hussaini said.
Madrasa claim
The attack on the mosque was carried out around 9 a.m. on Monday. Imam Hussaini said he heard some noise and came out of the mosque. “I saw a mob of around 100 people throwing stones at a small room where my brother and I sleep,” he said.
He alleged that the group vandalised the room and beat up his brother. Hasan claimed he was accused of running a madrasa and was told to leave the village.
“I tried to tell them that it’s a masjid and not a madrasa, but they kept beating and abusing me. They called me a Pakistani and a terrorist. They wanted the mosque to be removed,” he said.