Friday Prayers Held Peacefully Near Dhar's Bhojshala Complex Under Tight Security

Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): More than 150 Muslims offered Friday prayers near the Bhojshala-Kamal Maula complex in Dhar between 1 pm and 3 pm on Friday after the Supreme Court permitted namaz at an adjoining site.

Despite intermittent rain, the prayers concluded peacefully under heavy police security.

The arrangements followed discussions between the district administration and representatives of the Muslim community, who agreed to offer prayers at Survey No 612.

Abdul Samad of the Kamal Maula Welfare Society said the Supreme Court had identified Survey Nos 611, 612 and 596 for facilitating prayers.

He said the community chose Survey No 612 in consultation with the administration and voluntarily gave up Survey No 611 to avoid hurting religious sentiments.

Samad thanked the administration for ensuring peaceful arrangements and said the community would abide by the Supreme Court's future directions.

Hindu community representative Gopal Sharma, however, objected to the location selected for the prayers and said the community would continue to raise its concerns through legal and administrative channels.

Late on Thursday night, members of the Mali community also objected to the proposed prayer site. Officials held discussions with them, examined relevant documents and resolved the issue after persuading them to cooperate.

Additional Superintendent of Police Vijay Dawar said continuous dialogue with community representatives since Thursday evening helped maintain peace.

Around 800 to 900 police personnel, including Special Task Force personnel, were deployed, while CCTV surveillance and barricading were put in place around the Bhojshala complex.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Rajkumar Haldhar said the administration made elaborate arrangements and the prayers concluded without any untoward incident.

Collector Rajeev Ranjan Meena, SP Sachin Sharma and other senior officials monitored the arrangements. The matter will come up for further hearing in the Supreme Court on Aug 5.