Rajesh Kumar Behera in Kendrapara
About 150 Deobandi community members ,including women, of Golarahat and Chasakhanda under Derabish block on Saturday staged a mass demonstration in front of the Derabish Tehsildar’s office at Chhata protesting the step motherly attitude of the district administration for illegally locking the mosque by clamping Section 144 of CrPC and not allowing pesh Imama and the Mouzzan to perform five time prayer in the mosque despite the fact that the chairperson of the State Wakf Board on last 7th October asked the district administration in this regard .
According to the demonstrator, the district administration on last 24th September night clamped Section 144 of CrPC at the Derabish-based Tehttul mosque following tension erupted between the two group members of minority community over appointing an Imam in the mosque.
Tension erupted between the Bareli group members of Minority community and Deobandi group members over the appointing of a Bareli group Imam in the mosque where an Imam has already been working in the mosque which has been appointed earlier by the Deobandi community.
Notably, the chairman of Orissa Board of Wakf, Sayed Osatullah, in its letter no 455/OBW , dated 7.10.09 wrote to SP of Kendrapara, Nara Sundar Mishra, and the Tehsildar of Derabish by informing that for maintaining peace and tranquility ,promulgation of Section 144 Cr.P.C is seemed to be a correct step to stop violence but on the other hand imposition of Section 144 Cr.P.C on mosque or the temple or any religious institution is something which hurt the sentiments of the devotees As a question of amicable settlement has arisen the steps will be taken to settle the matter .But no action has been intiated in this regard.
Since from that day on wards both the group members were organizing prayer in the road or at the orchard as police barred both the group not to enter into the mosque .Since last 24th September , the mosque is yet to be unlocked .Even the Pesh Imam and the Mouzzan were not allowed to enter into the ,mosque for performing five time namaj.
Demanding before the Tehsildar of Derabish to take steps for unlocking the mosque by vacating the clamped Section 144 CrPC and allowing the pesh Imam and Mouzzan for performing five times namaj , the Deobandi group members organized mass demonstration .
The demonstrators later gave memorandum to the local tehsildar .If their local tehsildar would not able to solve the problem ,then they would gheraoed the District Collector’s office in the coming days ,informed the demonstrators.
When contacted , the Tehsildar of Derabish , Sarat Chandra Dash, informed that as the situation is still tensed between the duo group members . Keeping in mind that at any moment lawlessness would erupt once again in the area between the two groups ,Section 144 CrPC is still clamped. The district administration would take steps after 24th November either to vacate the order to continue the Section 144 CrPC accessing the situation in the coming days .
