Authorities in Hyderabad have decided to lift the curfew imposed in violence-hit parts of the city for a longer duration on Saturday after Friday prayers in these areas went off peacefully.
Thanking people and religious heads for their cooperation in ensuring peace on Friday, the Hyderabad city police commissioner A K Khan said that the curfew will be relaxed on Saturday in a phased manner in all the 25 police stations in South and West Zone.
"The relaxation will be for longer duration compared to the two-hour relaxation on Thursday," the Commissioner told the media at Charminar.
The new city areas where curfew will be relaxed from 8 am to 10 am are Afzalgunj, Begum Bazar, Habeebnagar, Kulsumpoora, Tappa Chabutra, Asifnagar, Mangalhat and Shahinayatgunj. The other 17 police stations in South Zone will have a relaxation for three hours from 10 am to 1pm.
The Border Security Force was deployed in sensitive areas to ensure peace, as Muslims were allowed to come out of their homes for Friday prayers.
Though attention was focussed on the historic Mecca Masjid, where normally thousands congregate, this Friday less than a 100 people offered prayers there.
The administration got a big helping hand from leading seminary, Jamaia Nizamia as it issued a fatwa (decree) that in disturbed circumstances, it was not compulsory for Muslims to go to the mosque for prayers.Khan said that so far 130 people had been arrested in connection with various criminal cases booked after the riots and more arrests were being made.
"We have identified the miscreants on the basis of video footage of violent incidents," he said.
