Musheeerabad, Ranigunj, Secunderabad, RTC X Roads, Dilsuknagar and Tarnaka were among the areas hit
With the celebrations of Hanuman Jayanthi going on in full swing, clashes were bound to occur between the Hindu and the Muslim communities. On Tuesday, the violence from the Old City now spread to areas in the rest of the city, including Musheeerabad, Ranigunj, Secunderabad, RTC X Roads, Dilsuknagar and Tarnaka.
The worst hit among these was Musheerabad. A never-before occurence of 7 rounds of open fire by the police took place. The Hanuman Jayanthi procession began peacefully, but while crossing a mosque in the locality, a few miscreants threw stones on it. This was seen as an open call for creating strife, and chaos ensued. The entire episode continued for 4 hours, which resulted in injuries of 3 civilians & 2 policemen. Vehicles were also damaged heavily.
In Begum Bazar, a mosque was set on fire, that resulted in full-scale tension. A few people tried to attempt to take out a rally, but were pushed away by the RAF. As part of the police force's security measures, 4 vans are making rounds all over the Old City, ready to jump into action on any sign of disturbance.
This morning, there was turbulence in Afzalgunj, and even in places under the South Zone, including Chandrayangutta and Chatrinaka (which were put under curfew). It was also noticed that all attacks happened only in the lanes and bylanes, while the main roads seemed devoid of action.
Nallagutta, which comes under the limits of Ramgopalpet police station, witnessed what was an act of mutual violence by both communities at the sight of each other. Muslims, coming out from a mosque after offering their prayers, came face-to-face with a Hanuman Jayanthi procession. Fierce fights followed, which led to open firing. Paradise hotel was not spared, either, and was pelted with stones by miscreants.
Interestingly, the law and order in the Old City seemed to have been restored, and seemed to be majorly under control apart from a few stray incidents. The curfew that was declared there since 7 pm yesterday has not been lifted yet. According to Police Commissioner A K Khan, the decision on when to lift the cufew will be taken tomorrow. He also said that 130 cases against those creating havoc in the Old City were booked, and many people were taken into custody.
Union Law and Justice Minister Veerappa Moily requested that all people co-operate for order, and asserted that the government will bring peace back into the city.
Section 144 CrPC is said to be imposed on all those places within the Hyderabad city that have witnessed riots today.