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Malegaon : Police teams conducted a pre-dawn search of a mosque and several houses in Malegaon\u2019s Barkatpura area of Maharashtra, triggering concern and fear among local residents.<\/p>\n
According to Kashmir Media Service, the operation was carried out between around 2 am and 3 am on August 13 in the Islam Pura ward by personnel from the local police, Nashik Crime Branch and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).<\/p>\n
The police have not issued any formal statement explaining the specific purpose of the search or disclosing what they were looking for. Officials, however, reportedly described the operation as a routine security exercise ahead of India\u2019s Independence Day on August 15, citing intelligence inputs.<\/p>\n
The mosque searched was the 103-year-old Masjid Ahle Sunnat Khanqah Barkatiya Naqshbandiya, an important religious institution for Muslims in Malegaon.<\/p>\n
Local residents said several police teams entered the mosque after asking mosque representatives and residents to be present. The personnel removed their shoes before entering and conducted the search with the assistance of local Muslim youths. They also examined different parts of the premises by tapping and checking them.<\/p>\n
Worshipper Jameel Ahmed Abdul Ghaffar said the operation surprised residents and worshippers, particularly because they had not previously witnessed such a search of the mosque. He said no suspicious, objectionable or significant item was found in the mosque or the surrounding houses.<\/p>\n
A delegation of residents subsequently met Deputy Superintendent of Police Siddharth Brawal and sought an explanation for the operation.<\/p>\n
Malegaon MLA Mufti Mohammed Ismail Qasmi of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) also visited Khanqah Barkatiya after Fajr prayers and met local residents and worshippers. He later met the DSP to seek details about the search.<\/p>\n
According to Qasmi, the DSP told him that a Nashik Crime Branch team had reached Malegaon following a complaint submitted to the Director General of Police and had sought assistance from the local police.<\/p>\n
Qasmi said the police personnel had shown respect for the religious sanctity of the mosque by removing their shoes and not touching copies of the Holy Quran kept inside. However, he questioned why the mosque had been searched and what information had prompted the operation.<\/p>\n
Residents said the investigating personnel found nothing suspicious or objectionable despite searching the premises. The lack of an official explanation has further heightened concerns among locals, who are seeking clarity over the information that led the Crime Branch and ATS teams to conduct the late-night search of the historic mosque and nearby houses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Malegaon : Police teams conducted a pre-dawn search of a mosque and several houses in Malegaon\u2019s Barkatpura area of Maharashtra, triggering concern and fear among local residents. According to Kashmir Media Service, the operation was carried out between around 2 am and 3 am on August 13 in the Islam Pura ward by personnel from …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":208074,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208072","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"yoast_head":"\n