A week after clashes broke out between two groups over a temporary place of worship at Amberpet here, a large police contingent has been deployed in and around the site to avoid any untoward incident and to restore normalcy.
Preventive custody
Around 40 people, including seven from Darsgah-Jihad-O-Shahadat (DJS), who expressed intention to gather at the site, offer prayers or stage protest, were taken into preventive custody and later let off.
On May 5, construction of the place of worship over a disputed land led to clashes between two groups, with both pelting stones at each other. In the violent incident, at least 20 people, including police personnel, got injured. Based on complaints, cases were registered against those involved.
On Saturday, Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar posted a tweet stating that some people with a vested interest have been spreading rumours on social media about people gathering at Amberpet. “No un lawful gathering shall be allowed at Amberpet, particularly in and around the area where there was a Law & order situation on last Sunday (sic),” he tweeted.
A large number of police personnel was deployed at Bagh Amberpet from Sunday morning. For nearly an hour in the afternoon, barricades were placed barring pedestrians, people in vehicles, from entering the lane where the disputed land is located.
In fact, vehicle users heading towards Bagh Amberpet area were stopped much ahead of the barricaded zone and asked to opt for alternative routes. Even the people who got on to the road after watching a movie at a nearby theatre were guided towards other routes.
Police did not allow people to assemble in the immediate vicinity of the land and patrol vehicles surveyed lanes and bylanes around the site.
‘No violence’
However, police officials said that some people poured on to the road after offering prayers.
“They shouted slogans and expressed intention to gather at the site; some wanted to offer prayers at the disputed land, or stage protest. They were taken into preventive custody. Besides them, around seven people from DJS were taken into preventive custody on Saturday, but were let off later. There was no violence in the locality,” a senior police official said.
