Tension at Old Delhi’s Fatehpuri area

Tension gripped the Fatehpuri Masjid area on Friday after it was discovered that some miscreant had thrown a defiled copy of a religious book in a water tank used by devotees to cleanse before offering prayers.

Tension gripped the Fatehpuri Masjid area on Friday after it was discovered that some miscreant had thrown a defiled copy of a religious book in a water tank used by devotees to cleanse before offering prayers.

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Thousands of devotees had gathered at the Mughal-era mosque for Friday prayers. The hauz (tank) used for wazu (cleaning feet and hands) before prayers was cleaned just yesterday and hence had clear water.

Soon after the prayers were over, a commotion erupted near the tank. “Someone had thrown the religious book which had dirt stains on it into the hauz,” said Dr Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, Imam of the Fatehpuri Masjid.There are eight CCTV cameras in the mosque premises but none of them are working.

“The Waqf board is supposed to repair or replace these CCTV cameras,” he said. M Nafis of Youth Service Mission, an NGO from the area, said, “This seems to be a deliberate action by the miscreant/s ahead creating trouble for the community ahead of the holy month of Ramzan that starts next week.”

A complaint has been lodged with the local police with police personnel stationed at the mosque in the afternoon. Police said they are investigating the case.