UNEASY FRIDAY CALM: COPS OVERSEE PRAYERS

NEW DELHI: For hours, Rasheed Khan sifted through the debris inside Meena Masjid in Bhagirathi Vihar and managed to find the right plugs to install the loudspeakers. The sound system, he said, survived an attack during the communal riot in north-east Delhi, in which a mob ransacked the mosque and tried to set it on fire. The speakers were set up for the Friday prayers, scheduled for 1.45pm, said Khan. But around 1.30pm, when HT was at the mosque, a group of Hindu residents gathered in the vicinity, blocking the alley where the mosque is located.

In the gathering was 23-yearold Gajendra Sharma, who sustained a bullet injury on his leg, and 44-year-old Ramesh Chandra, who sustained a head injury during violence in the neighbourhood on Monday and Tuesday. Both said they were heading back home from work and were caught in the crossfire between Hindu and Muslim groups.

“Men are injured here. How can we let gatherings happen under such circumstance? There is immense fear among people,” said Roopvati Gupta, a resident of Bhagirathi Vihar, also part of the gathering that blocked the alley leading to the mosque.

Police resorted to warnings issued through loudspeakers, and directed all residents to head back home, citing prohibitory orders in the neighbourhood, which make gatherings of four or more people unlawful. A platoon of Border Security Force officers fanned across the area. Friday prayers were cancelled.but other mosques in riot-hit areas witnessed larger crowds for Friday prayers, amid stepped-up security, as residents came out looking for a safer place to pray.