Tension in Meerut after lathi-charge

A strong contingent of police and Rapid Action Force personnel was deployed in this communally sensitive town to prevent disruption of Friday namaaz on a street near a mosque in Shiv Chowk area

A strong contingent of police and Rapid Action Force personnel was deployed in this communally sensitive town to prevent disruption of Friday namaaz on a street near a mosque in Shiv Chowk area,a day after authorities resorted to lathicharge to avert a flash-point.

Trouble erupted Thursday night when more than 1,000 Muslims started offering namaaz on the street,cordoned off by the police. This led to protests from VHP and ABVP members,who then went to a nearby temple and blew conches.

SP (city) Om Prakash first tried to reason with the protesters and then ordered lathi-charge to disperse them as the namaaz continued under police protection.

Around midnight,SSP Deepak Kumar got the temple locked to avoid further disturbance. The situation is under control now as we have got assurance from members of both communities that they will not let anything untoward happen, the SSP said on Friday.

The mosque is very old. We are building a multi-storey mosque here so that those offering namaaz will have not to come on the road but it will take some time. We want peace in the town, said Shahr Qazi Jennur Rashideen.

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