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Man arrested for sacrilege bid at mosque in Shahjahanpur
Hundreds of people gather outside the mosque and stage protest, some engaged in arson by pulling down hoardings installed on the roadside
LUCKNOW Tension prevailed in UP’s Shahjahanpur after a copy of the Quran was found burnt in a mosque on Wednesday evening. The police on Thursday claimed to have arrested a man for allegedly damaging the holy book, apparently with the intent to create law and order problem in the district, said police.
The accused, Taj Mohammad, was identified with the help of CCTV footage and later arrested from Barujai locality, Ramit Sharma, IG, Bareilly range, said in a press conference. He said the initial intention behind damaging the holy book was to disturb law and order, but the police were interrogating him to ascertain any other intent behind it.
The incident was reported around 4.30pm on Wednesday when one Nadeem informed the cleric of the Fakhre Alam mosque in Kotwali area of the city that a few pages of the holy book were found torn and burnt. The CCTV footage revealed that a man secretly entered the mosque, burnt a few pages after tearing them from the book and escaped easily without being noticed by anyone, said S Anand, SP (Shahjahanpur).
He said the case was registered against an unidentified person at Chowk police station on the complaint of Nadeem.
After information about the incident, hundreds of people gathered outside the mosque and staged a protest. Some people engaged in arson by pulling down hoardings installed on the roadside. The police had to use mild force to disperse the mob, said the SP.
District magistrate Umesh Pratap Singh, along with additional district magistrate (finance and revenue) Ramsevak Dwivedi inspected the spot and appealed to people to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumours. Police personnel were deployed near the mosque to prevent any law and order situation.
