Peaceful Friday prayers in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Friday prayers in northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri went off peacefully, as residents of the violence-torn area tried to piece back their lives, two days after an “anti-encroachment demolition” by the civic bodies left several without work.

For 40 years, 62-year-old Sudhir Singh has received his childhood friend Suleiman Khan from the gate of the Jahangirpuri Jama Masjid, in front of which clashes broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession last Saturday. That changed this Friday.

“It’s the first time in the last 40-odd years that I have received Khan Bhai after the Friday namaz during Ramzan from a place other than the Masjid. We met at Kushal Chowk, because the area around the masjid has been cordoned off by the police since April 16,” Singh said. Khan, meanwhile, said he hoped friendships would endure in the first of the tensions that have gripped the area for a week now. Friday prayers were held inside Jama Masjid itself.

The stretch between Kushal Chowk and the Kali temple was on Friday open only for Muslim residents of the area who wanted to offer prayers at the mosque.

Roughly 1,500 personnel from the Delhi Police, CAPF, CRPF and RAF continued to keep guard in the area. A tense calm prevailed over on Friday, with civic bodies having cleaned up the streets and gotten rid of most debris from Wednesday’s action

Usha Rangnani, DCP (northwest), said, “We have cordoned the area off as a preventive measure. We’ve also installed many CCTV cameras at Kushal Chowk and its adjoining areas. It’ll help us in tracking the movements of hoodlums.”