On account of 23rd anniversary of Babri Masjid Demolition Day on Sunday, the City police, as a precautionary measure, deployed hundreds of policemen and Rapid Action Force personnel in the communally sensitive old city of Hyderabad. The police commissioner also promulgated prohibitory order under Section 144 Cr.P.C.
In the afternoon, some activists of Darasgah Jihad-o-Shadat (DJS) in the Daru-shifa area, trooped out of a mosque and attempted to take out a rally and shouted slogans demanding reconstruction of the 16th century mosque that was razed on this day in 1992 in Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh. The alert police personnel frustrated their attempt and whisked them away to the Dabirpura police station.
The situation remained peaceful amidst a call for a shutdown given by some Muslim groups and plans by others to celebrate ‘Vijay Diwas’. Shops and business establishments downed their shutters in some parts of the old city. Black flags were hoisted in the Muslim-dominated areas. (NSS)