Hyderabad: In view of the reports about possible protests against demolition of two mosques in old secretariat, elaborate security arrangements were made on the occasion of Friday. Police force was deployed at various places besides historical Makkah Masjid. Rapid action force was also called in. Police pickets were deployed near Hazrat Ujale Shah Saheb mosque in Sayeedabad.
Masjid Dafaatir-e-Muatamadi situated adjacent to the C Block and Masjid-e-Hashmi situated near the D Block of the old secretariat were demolished on Wednesday following which anger prevailed among Muslims of Hyderabad. Various Muslim organisations took a tough stand against this move by the government.
Police also put MBT spokesman Amjadullah Khan in house arrest at his Chandrayangutta Farmhouse. Heavy police force was also deployed near several mosques of the city.
As per the plan prepared by the government for the construction of new secretariat, it was decided to demolish the two mosques and a temple and construct them on some other place. Notably the government did not consult with the religious personalities or Islamic scholars before demolition of the places of worship. The government demolished the mosques keeping Muslims in the dark.
According to sources, the copies of Quran and jaenamaz (prayer mats) were shifted to some other place before carrying out the demolition. It must be noted that regular prayers were offered at both the mosques before imposition of corona lockdown, but after the lockdown both were locked and no one was allowed to visit them.