Hyderabad, July 4: Police in Telangana’s Nirmal district arrested two youths for assaulting an imam after trespassing into a mosque. The incident occurred in Kumsera village of Bhainsa village, triggering an outrage among the Muslim community.
The attempt to disturb peace and communal harmony was made by two youths, who barged into Jamia Masjid on the night of July 3 and assaulted the imam, Abdul Azeez, who was waiting for Isha prayers. They abused the imam and warned him not to give ‘azan’ or lead ‘namaz’. They held the imam by his collar.
Following the incident, local Muslims gathered at the mosque. They informed Bhainsa municipal vice-chairman Mohammed Jaber Ahmed, who is also the district president of AIMIM. He alerted Nirmal SP Janaki Sharmila and Bhainsa Additional SP Avinash Kumar and demanded stringent action against the miscreants.
Top police officials sent the police force to the village to maintain law and order. Avinash Kumar visited the village and reviewed the situation. Police pickets were deployed in the village as a precautionary measure.
On a complaint by the imam, a case was registered against the miscreants at Bhainsa Rural Police Station.
Police said two youth Naveen Reddy and Nitish Reddy, both aged around 27, were arrested and produced before a court, which sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.
They were booked under various sections of new criminal law Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The sections include 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation), 299 (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 196 (2) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and 329 (trespass).
Bhainsa and its surroundings witnessed communal trouble on many occasions in the past.
