Tension grips Noida village as mob attacks mosque, imam’s kin
COMMUNAL TENSION Over 100 allegedly vandalise local mosque, accuse cleric’s brother of being a ‘Pakistani’, running a madrasa
NOIDA: Tension prevailed at the Chapproli Banger village near Noida’s sector 168 on Monday after a mob attacked a mosque, roughed up the imam’s brother and called him a Pakistani who was running a madrasa.
Though the victim has not lodged a complaint against the accused as yet, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Love Kumar said security in the village will be increased, if the need arises. A few policemen have been stationed outside the mosque for now.
The Chapproli Banger village, located two kilometres away from the Noida expressway, is a Rajput-dominated village which houses 2,500-odd people, of which some 25-odd families follow Islam.
The village has two mosques — an old one that has been used by the village residents for generations and another built in 2013 which is also used by Muslim families from the neighbouring areas. The four-year-old mosque attracts a crowd of 2,500-3,000 people every Friday for namaz.
“Some villagers have a problem with the new mosque and they want it to be shifted. It was announced yesterday (Sunday) that a meeting will be scheduled at Suresh Chauhan’s residence to discuss the issue,” Yusuf Ali, a resident of Chapproli Banger, said.
Suresh Chauhan and his elder brother Kishan hold influence in the village and often act as mediators in inter-community meetings since there is no panchayat system in Noida villages.
A village meeting was scheduled at 9am, but the Muslim residents chose not to attend the meeting after they were reportedly tipped-off about a possible attack.
“We were told by our sources to avoid the meeting since the issue had flared up and a crowd had started assembling at the baraat ghar (community centre),” Ali said.
The group attacked t he mosque, vandalized a room and roughed up Saba Hasan, the 19-year-old younger brother of imam Ziyauddin Al Hussaini, said eyewitnesses Shokeen and Mahinuddin.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Hasan said he was accused of running a madrasa and told to leave the village. “I tried to tell them that it is a masjid (mosque) and not a madarsa but they kept on beating me and hurled abuses at me. They called me a Pakistani, a terrorist,” he said.
Imam Hussaini said he too was called a terrorist. “I heard some noise and come out of the mosque. I saw a mob of around 100 people who were pelting stones at a small room where my brother and I sleep. They slapped my brother multiple times and called me a terrorist. I had to run for my life,” he said.
Both Hussaini and Hasan hail from Araria district of Bihar and had shifted to Noida a year ago to practise in the mosque.
Eyewitnesses claim the mob that attacked the mosque com- prised of villagers with whom they have lived in harmony for years.
However, Kishan Chauhan pled ignorance. “We don’t know who was behind the attack. Some outsiders may have done this. A meeting was scheduled for today (Monday) but the Muslims didn’t turn up,” he said.
Though the victims have refused to lodge an FIR, they said they can identify the people in the mob.
“We can identify the men who were responsible for the vandalism. I was born here and so was my grandfather. We have lived in harmony with everyone for years and now, all of a sudden, they want us out of the village,” eyewitness Mahinuddin said.
Vedpal Pundir, station house officer of Expressway police station, said the situation is under control for now. “We talking to the victims so they give us the names of attackers to lodge an First Information Report,” he said.
SSP Love Kumar said additional police force will be deployed in the village, if the need arises. “I am constantly in touch with the Expressway SHO and I am keeping track of the situation,” Kumar said.