Hyderabad: Tension was palpable near the historic Charminar on Friday afternoon, but, for a change, it did not take communal hue. A row over sounding the bell at the Bhagya Laxmi temple abutting the heritage structure during Juma (Friday) prayers put police on their toes for a couple of hours. However, the Friday prayers passed off peacefully at the Mecca Masjid.
Trouble began at noon when nearly 300 Hindu rightwing activists descended on the Bhagya Laxmi temple and started ringing the bell, breaking an unwritten rule of not sounding it during the Juma prayers. For the next 90 minutes, the chiming continued and the temple authorities made an attempt to take out an aarathi (camphor burning) around the Charminar, but police foiled their bid. Unmindful of the gongs, the namazis filed into the grand mosque, said their Juma prayers and quietly left the place.
With Milad-un-Nabi just a few days away, the Hyderabad police did not want to take chances and beefed up security near Charminar. Also, the top brass, including Hyderabad police commissioner AK Khan, camped in the Old City from morning.
Police said that since Thursday SMSs were doing the rounds with Hindu rightwing organisations asking citizens to gather in large numbers and ring the bell at noon. Since it was Friday, police, to avoid any untoward incidents, deployed a large contingent of security personnel, including RAF and Task Force.
Trouble began at noon when nearly 300 Hindu rightwing activists descended on the Bhagya Laxmi temple and started ringing the bell, breaking an unwritten rule of not sounding it during the Juma prayers. For the next 90 minutes, the chiming continued and the temple authorities made an attempt to take out an aarathi (camphor burning) around the Charminar, but police foiled their bid. Unmindful of the gongs, the namazis filed into the grand mosque, said their Juma prayers and quietly left the place.
With Milad-un-Nabi just a few days away, the Hyderabad police did not want to take chances and beefed up security near Charminar. Also, the top brass, including Hyderabad police commissioner AK Khan, camped in the Old City from morning.
Police said that since Thursday SMSs were doing the rounds with Hindu rightwing organisations asking citizens to gather in large numbers and ring the bell at noon. Since it was Friday, police, to avoid any untoward incidents, deployed a large contingent of security personnel, including RAF and Task Force.
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