AIMIM MP camped outside Ram temple to prevent violence from escalating

Jalil, who represents Aurangabad constituency, reached the temple within 15 minutes of the incident that triggered the skirmish between two groups. “Had the temple been targeted and had I not reached in time, the violence would have spread rapidly across the state,” he said

Mumbai: Syed Imtiaz Jaleel, the sole All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP from Maharashtra, played a key role in restoring normalcy after communal violence erupted outside the Ram temple in the Muslim-dominated Kiradpura in Aurangabad city on Wednesday midnight. The MP sat through the night at the temple and tried to pacify the 500-strong mob, most of whom were from his community. In doing so, he also had to bear the brunt of anger from the crowd which was in a mood to give a ‘befitting reply’ to alleged provocation.

AIMIM MP camped outside Ram temple to prevent violence from escalating

Jalil, who represents Aurangabad constituency, reached the temple within 15 minutes of the incident that triggered the skirmish between two groups. “Had the temple been targeted and had I not reached in time, the violence would have spread rapidly across the state,” he said. “Besides the temple priests, a few women were hiding on the first floor, and around 15 policemen too had taken shelter inside. I assured them all that nothing would happen to them and the temple till I was there.”

The tension began brewing after a mob of around 15 youngsters with saffron flags rolled in on bikes at 11.30 pm and started shouting slogans. “One of the bikes dashed briefly against a bystander and a brawl erupted,” said Jalil. “A few elderly people, in an effort to control the situation, requested the bikers to leave.”

Even after they left, however, the tension continued to escalate. “When I requested the mob to maintain peace, I was targeted by youngsters who accused me of bias and pelted stones at me,” said Jalil. “The tension was further fuelled by rumours on social media that the temple had been attacked and set on fire.”

To counter the false propaganda, Jaleel released a video of the temple priest, assuring people that the temple was unharmed. “A video of me assuring the women in the temple that they would be safe was also circulated on social media at around 3.30 am,” he said. “I also reached out to maulanas of mosques in the area to appeal to people to maintain peace. All this helped us stop the tension from spreading.”

Jalil questioned the role of the police, who reached the spot very late. “There was no response from the police or the fire brigade when I called them immediately after reaching the temple,” he said. “The police commissioner told me that the force had already reached, but till 3.30 am, only 15 policemen who had taken shelter in the temple were there. Only two of them had arms. It’s surprising that a sizable police force was not deployed outside a temple in the middle of a Muslim mohalla on the eve of Ram Navami. That has been the traditional practice to pre-empt likely problems.”

Jalil said that several political leaders from other parties stood by him in his endeavour to calm down the people and stop rumours from spreading. “At 6 am, when ministers and leaders from other parties started visiting the spot, I requested them to stand together and make a joint appeal to people to maintain harmony and peace,” he said. “It is not about siding with any particular community. I have always publicly said that people indulging in communal violence should be stringently punished, regardless of their religious identity.”