Ahead of the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict, the district authorities clamped prohibitory orders under Section 144 early on Saturday morning in Kurnool which has the highest Muslim population in the State. In a bid to maintain law and order, the authorities also ordered closure of all the liquor shops in the district.
Security was beefed up in the district and all police personnel, even those on leave, were told to report for duty. Police pickets were arranged at some places of worship.
However, despite the curbs, normal life was not affected in the city. Vehicular traffic was as usual and shops remained open throughout the day. Even in Old Town people were out on the streets without any restrictions from the police.
Superintendent of Police Fakeerappa Kaginelli told The Hindu that the 144 section would be lifted at midnight. “On Sunday, the Milad-un-Nabi processions would also be taking place,” he added.
However, the police vigil will continue for the next week in a bid to prevent any untoward incident.
Sensitive areas
The SP said that six APSP parties had been deployed. Twenty of the total 30 special parties had also been posted while 10 had been kept in reserve. Further, 800 AR officers had also been deployed along with Special Branch officers who worked on communal and faction issues.
“We have identified Adoni, Atmakur and Nandyal along with Kurnool as sensitive areas, and have beefed up security,” he said. Adoni has over 30 mobile monitoring vehicles while 25 have been deployed in Kurnool.
The SP said that preventive action had been taken and peace conferences with religious leaders were conducted a week in advance. “Even the leaders showed initiative and promised not to celebrate irrespective of how the verdict went,” he added.
Echoing the same sentiment, Human Rights Forum (HRF) State president U.G. Srinivasulu said that community leaders decided not to celebrate and respect the Supreme Court’s decision.
90 pickets set up
In Chittoor, however, Superintendent of Police S. Senthil Kumar on Saturday said that Section 144 would be in force till further orders were issued at all the sensitive areas, though there was no any untoward incident or protest. Mr. Senthil Kumar said that more than 90 pickets were arranged in the district to monitor the situation. He added that the surveillance on the activity in social media would continue in order to dispel rumours and prevent provocative acts.
‘Maintain peace’
“Our efforts in organizing the coordination meetings with public groups have yielded excellent results,” the SP said.
Meanwhile, heavily-armed police force was kept on guard at various places in Madanapalle division.
In Ongole, welcoming the Supreme court verdict on Ayodhya issue, Bharatiya Janata Party Minority Morcha State president Sk. Khalifatullah Basha on Saturday said it was time to maintain communal harmony by abiding by the apex court ruling.
