Vijayawada: VMC officials and Tarapet masjid committee members have lodged a complaint with the One Town police against six persons, accusing them of creating tensions among Muslims.
The six persons have been accused of attacking on duty VMC officials and of spreading derogatory comments against Vijayawada West MLA Jaleel Khan on social media. The MLA had in fact been embroiled in the controversy since last April over this issue.
Jaleel Khan was reportedly angry with the masjid committee for not inviting him to a crucial meeting last year where the issue of parting with the masjid land for road-widening was being discussed.
The MLA had faced an embarrassing situation after a large group of Muslims gheraoed him at Tarapet masjid and burial ground premises last August. The locals were not convinced by the MLA’s promises to protect the mosque from demolition by the VMC for road-widening.
Locals say the MLA has not given them any reason to believe he is a well-wisher.
Developments over the past one week prompted the VMC officials to intervene and settle the matter amicably.
However, matters came to a head after an alleged attack on VMC officials by a group of people, allegedly led by Abdul Rahman alias B.S.N.L. Rahman, Ahmed Basha, Nooruddin, Machhi Khadir and Moinuddin alias Gabbar Singh, according to Jaleel Khan.
The MLA alleged that the group has been entertaining antisocial elements to create communal tensions in the old city of Vijayawada. “I suspect the involvement of antisocial elements in postings against me on social media,” Jaleel Khan said.
“I urge the locals to look at the integrity and credentials of those people who have been obstructing the development” he observed. With the MLA’s statement, police started investigating into the angle of involvement of “non-local” miscreants.
“We can’t rule out the possibility of involvement of outsiders in Tarapet masjid issue, as it is been almost a year since the issue came to light and not subsided so far,” an inspector rank officer told this newspaper.
