Hyderabad: The Hyderabad city police heaved a sigh of relief on the third anniversary of the Makkah Masjid bomb blast, which passed off without any new untoward incident Tuesday.
The city and the police were on an edge after an intelligence warning that terrorists may launch an attack on the occasion to avenge the death of six people killed in the blast and nine others killed during a police firing.
Heavy security arrangements especially in the Muslim-dominated old city a voluntary bandh (strike) by the local people and prayers by the families of the victims were the highlights.
The situation turned tense ever since unidentified gunmen attacked a police picket in Shah Ali Banda area on Friday and killed a constable.
Focus of attacks
Makkah Masjid became a focal point with heavy police forces being deployed in the area.
With police keeping a close watch on the mosque using video cameras, very few people turned up for the afternoon prayers.
Armed police, including those called in from other districts, were deployed at sensitive points. Police vehicles could also be seen patrolling the areas to check for anti-social elements.
A few of the victims' family members gathered inside the mosque to offer prayers. Sabira Begum, mother of Nayeem Shaikh a young victim who was killed in the blasts was one among them.
She said: "His memory keeps coming back. On every anniversary those memories keep haunting me... [of] how my son died and how his body looked. I can never forget it. They [the perpetrators] of the blast have destroyed my family and many other families."
Sabira, who prayed at the very site where the bombs had exploded on May 18, 2007, was bitter that the government had failed to fulfil its promise of providing a house and a job to one family member.
"They have not arrested the culprits even after three years. I am still waiting for the government to deliver on its promise," she said.
The normally crowded roads of the old city wore a deserted look as Muslim shopkeepers in Madina, Patthargatti and Charminar areas observed a curfew.
Hyderabad city police commissioner A. K. Khan said that in view of the two terrorist attacks on May 18, 2009 and last Friday which killed two policemen, police were ordered to carry weapons with them.
