GURUGRAM: Seven people, all from the minority community, armed with pistols,
attacked
an
imam
on Tuesday, while he was conducting a meeting inside the mosque near
Rajiv Chowk
, to discuss the issue of holding prayer congregations in the open with his followers.
This came a month after the controversy, that had flared up over holding Friday prayers in the open in the last week of April, when Hindu groups first threatened disruption and followed up their threat next Friday at prayer meets across the city.
The administration conducted a series of meetings with different groups, at the end of which Muslim community leaders agreed to reduce the number of prayer meets in open areas to around 40 places (including mosques and idgahs), from over 100.
“We’re trying to maintain peace and harmony in the city. After consultation with administration and civil society members, the number of places where we would conduct prayer meetings was reduced. But this has not gone down well with certain sections,” said
Shahzad Khan, who had first filed a complaint against disruption of prayers in Sector 43, following which, six youths were arrested.
Khan, who is also a member of the committee to decide on prayer sites, said they were holding the meeting to decide on next Friday’s prayer meetings, when a group of seven men entered the mosque. “They issued threats and attacked the imam inside the mosque,” said Khan, adding most of the miscreants were relatives of other imams.
He said many imams and maulanas, some even from Mewat, had started conducting afternoon prayer meets at different places in Gurugram on Fridays. Khan alleged these people have “turned the meetings into personal business”. “Reduction in number of prayer sites had made many such people jobless. So they are not happy with us,” said Khan, adding that these people have no concern for peace and harmony, and only think about their narrow self-interests.
Khan managed to escape unhurt but imam
Islamuddin
, who is a resident of
Sheetla Mata
colony, sustained minor injuries.
Later, based on his complaint, an FIR was registered at Sadar police station against seven people under sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with weapon), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act.
ASI Mangal Singh confirmed they had registered the FIR under relevant sections. “We’re investigating the matter,” he said.
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