Muslim leaders deplore bomb blast in Hyderabad and subsequent police firing

By Khabrein staff reporter:

New Delhi, May 19 (www.khabrein.info): The blast at Makka Masjid that killed 10 people and four more in police firing triggered spontaneous demonstrations in Hyderabad. Several Leading Muslim organizations of the city including Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), Majlis Bachao Tehreek and Communist organizations CPI and CPM have called for a bandh today. Muslim leaders in the city feel all the more pained by the indiscriminate firing by the police. The firing killed around four people.
The Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen called for a bandh in the city on Saturday in protest against the bomb blast in Mecca Masjid. Party MP Asaduddin Owaisi appealed to all sections irrespective of caste and religion to make the bandh a success and send a strong signal to those bent upon spreading disharmony.
Owaisi said, "We want all to join and condemn the attack in the strongest terms. It is not just an attack on the mosque but one which attempted to destroy the composite culture of Hyderabad".
Mushtaq Malik of Tahreeke Muslim Shabban has also condemned the blast and the indiscriminate firing by the police. He in a statement asked all the section of the society to make Saturday’s bandh a success.
The police came under severe attack from all quarters for indiscriminate firing on devotees who were protesting against the blast that had killed 10 people who were in the mosque for offering Friday prayers.
Though the police officials are trying to justify the firing with Hyderabad Police Commissioner Balwinder Singh saying that the mob was trying to burn a petrol pump and there was a real danger to the area. But politicians from other parties say the concern came too late. Muslim leaders are saying that the police could have controlled the situation without resorting to firing.
“Police wanted to cover up their mistakes, their wrong doings and they have ensured that innocent people die in police firing,” said MIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi.
Muslim leaders in other parts of the country have also severely condemned the bomb blasts and the subsequent police firing
Farihad Sheikh, president of Bombay Aman Committee, said, “People should stay neutral and not believe rumours. Maulana Mustaq-im Azim, secretary of Jamiat-e- Ulema said, “Not just Muslims, even Hindus are upset. We want people to follow the constitution.”
Mahmood Madani of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind has asked the government to probe the blasts as soon as possible and punish the guilty.
Ahmad Bukhari, the imam of Jama Masjid, Delhi, said that when the state Chief Minister says that there was advance warning of such incident, he is amazed as to why the government had not taken advance measures to avert such incident. He said that like previous incidents, this incident would also be linked to some fringe Muslim group to cover up the intelligence failure.
Jamat-e-Islami Hind has also deplored the bomb blast. JIH general secretary Nusrat Ali has asked the people to maintain law and order and has asked the government to probe and punish the guilty at the earliest.