A string of developments over the past week has instilled a feeling of insecurity once again among people living in the Old City. The arrest of terror suspect Obaidur Rahman in the city on Friday has led to many dreading an overzealous police crackdown which could throw many young men in the process behind bars. And, with the alleged desecration of a place of worship in Langar Houz on Sunday, residents fear a rerun of Kurmaguda-Madannapet incident in early April this year when anti-social elements desecrated a place of worship sparking communal riots that ended in curfew being clamped in parts of the Old City for several days.
With Ganesh Chaturthi barely a fortnight away, residents spoke in hushed tones expressing their apprehensions of communal disturbance. “Will normal life be affected again?” they asked. Further, with the incendiary posters with communal passions inciting text, many said that it was only a matter of time till peace was defiled. Roop Kumar, an anxious resident of Charminar, said, “We do not want another 2010 like incident when we couldn’t go to work and paid as much as Rs 12 for an egg. Communal feelings have been flaring up at the drop of a hat in the past two years. In the end, it is the common man who suffers.”
Gripped by fear, many parents said that they have warned their children not to spend time with friends and return home from after-college tuitions before 8 pm. Others contemplated moving their sons and daughters from the evening batch to the morning batch. Lateef Mohammed Khan from Civil Liberties Organisation said, “The communally charged incidents in the city have kept citizens on tenterhooks. There have been many instances when parents have changed their children’s private tuition timings from evenings to mornings.”
Sources from the police department noted that the recurrence of incidents was a result of ‘heightened polarisation’ among communities. A police official on the condition of anonymity said, “Such incidents meant to create trouble intensify as elections draws near and may increase till the 2014 elections. Voting leads to dividends on both sides. That being said, we are doing all we can to contain the situation.”
They said that in light of the communal tension in Begum Bazaar last week, the police department has formulated night operating procedures along with four levels of response – Levels A, B, C and D – in which officers from the sub-inspector to DCP levels will mobilise divisional and zonal forces to respond to different situations.
Allaying citizen’s fears, Hyderabad police commissioner Anurag Sharma said, “We are definitely not going to arrest anybody unless there is a case against that person. Obaidur Rahman was arrested by the Karnataka police. We are not going to pick up innocent people.”
–COurtesy:Timesofindia
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Old-City-edgy-again/articleshow/16241991.cms