Vested interest behind Friday prayers clash: cops

The DDA allotted a plot of land to the Dargah-e-Islami-Intazaria Committee in Rohini’s Sector 16 on June 1 for the construction of a mosque.

Residents said that for eight years they had no mosque in the area and had to go as far as Badli or the Avantika area to offer prayers. “All these years,we met for congregational prayers in parks and other open places,and now,when we finally have our own land,we are not being allowed to build a mosque,” Salim,who came for Friday prayers,said.

Last week,as news came that construction had started on the plot,some alleged Right-wing groups started inciting residents by distributing pamphlets and urging them to assemble and protest against the construction of the mosque.

Over 500 residents protested against the construction on June 21; those under the banner of the residents’ welfare associations of sectors 11,16 and 17 were the main voices of dissent.

Last Friday,as the members of the minority community were gathering for prayers,residents started pelting them as well as the police outside,who had already smelled trouble,with stones. Section 144 had to be enforced,prohibiting the movement of people in groups. “It’s a completely legal construction and nobody can stop it. A few people are inciting the residents because of personal benefits,” a senior police officer present at the spot said.

Some of last week’s protestors,who are also in hiding,said they are against the construction of the mosque because that would make Muslims from all over the area converge here and they won’t feel secure. “They will open up small shops and turn this area into a ghetto like old Delhi,” a shopkeeper said.

Members of the minority community,who say they have the support of a majority of the residents in the locality and the police force,believe it is actually property dealers and landowners who are against the mosque. “They believe that a mosque will reduce the price of properties here,” Shakeeb Ahmad Khan,a resident,said.

The prayers ended peacefully this Friday but construction on the mosque has been stopped to let communal tensions cool down a bit. “Residents who held a protest last month say the population of the minority community in the area is small and it shouldn’t be allowed to construct a mosque. Since the construction is legal,we will make sure there is communal harmony in the area and the police are working towards that,” Atul Katiyar,DCP (Outer),said.