Mohammed Saad, the 22-year-old naib Imam of Anjuman Jama Masjid in Gurugram, who was found dead after a mob allegedly broke into an under-construction mosque at Sector 57 and set it on fire, had told his family that would be safe as there was “enough police deployment” outside the mosque, reported The Indian Express.
On Tuesday, at around 12.10 AM, the body of naib imam was found. The mob allegedly stabbed Saad in the neck, chest and abdomen and also injured a caretaker Mohammad Khurshid.
Gurgaon Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran said that five people have been arrested in connection with the case.
Speaking to IE, Shadaab Anwar, 30-year-old brother of Saad, said that he was assured by his brother that the situation was normal and at least two police vehicles were deployed outside the mosque.
Saad, from Bihar’s Sitamarhi, had been the mosque’s naib (deputy) imam for the last six months. Anwar said that he used to live inside the mosque and his brother Saad was supposed to return to their village the same day.
“He told me he would read namaz early in the morning and leave via a train,” Anwar said.
According to an eyewitness, at around 12 AM a mob of around 100 people, carrying iron rods and sticks in their hands came and started vandalising. A mosque worker said that Khurshid and Saad were sleeping in one room, while three people, including the mosque worker, were taking rest nearby, who managed to escape.
Violent clashes were reported in Nuh in Haryana during a procession by the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal on Tuesday. It soon spilled over to neighbouring Gurugram, claiming the lives of six people.
Police said that vandalism and arson were reported in at least five areas in Gurugram on Tuesday last night. A fire broke out at a godown and an adjoining puncture shop in sector 70A around 9:30 PM on Tuesday. At around 1 am, three godowns near Teekli village were torched.
Two meat shops were vandalised in the Badshahpur area while a godown in Palam Vihar was also set on fire. Slums near Nakhdola village were also attacked by a group of youths, a senior police officer said. He said that some people tried to set a puncture shop on fire near Maruti Kunj in the Bhondsi area but they fled after seeing a police team in the area, reported PTI.
Meanwhile, District Vice-President of Vishva Hindu Parishad Surendra Tanwar said during the violence in Nuh on Monday, Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Sharma was attacked by the rioters and critically injured. He was initially admitted to a hospital in Gurugram and later taken to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where he died. Police too confirmed the death of 32-year-old Sharma.