In anticipation of protests, security was deployed more in the south and west zones of the city due to large gatherings at mosques for Friday prayers for the second consecutive week.
In the south zone, a large number of police personnel were posted near Charminar, Shahalibanda, Nagulchinta, Jamia Masjid Darulshifa, and Bahadurpura. Asifnagar, Mehdipatnam, Golconda, Tolichowki, Tappachabutra, Karwan, and Jhirra also have a higher police presence.
On August 22, suspended BJP MLA Raja Singh was arrested for making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad in a YouTube video. Raja Singh was arrested immediately after protests erupted.
However, he managed to secure bail within a day, which prompted more protests from Muslims.
The Hyderabad police arrested and detained Raja Singh under the Preventive Detention Act following protests against him.
As the atmosphere in Hyderabad, especially in the Old City, has become communal, the police are reluctant to take any chances. There were sporadic violent incidents as a result.
Police invoked PD Act against the legislator and sent him to Central Prison Cherlapally. Although Singh has been arrested, the cops don’t seem to want to take any risks during Hyderabad’s Ganesh festival celebrations.
There are also reports that Raja Singh supporters are approaching the court to have the PD Act revoked. In the Goshamahal constituency, his followers have called for a bandh on August 3, blaming the TRS government for the tense situation.
Goshmahal constituency has also seen an increase in police presence.
According to the police, 101 cases have been filed against the MLA since 2004, with 18 of them involving communal incidents in Hyderabad’s old city. Supporters of Raja Singh staged protests at Khairatabad Bada Ganesh on Wednesday, demanding his release.
His supporters have called for a bandh in some Telangana districts. It elicited a mixed or no response.
(This story has been sourced from a third-party syndicated feed, agencies. Raavi Media accepts no responsibility or liability for the text’s dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, and data. Raavi Media management/ythisnews.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content at its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.)
