March 16, 2019
NEW DELHI: Nine Indians are reported missing after the mosque attacks in New
Zealand. The Ministry of External Affairs has put out a notification: "Our Mission
is in touch with local authorities to ascertain more details. It is a sensitive
matter and therefore we can't give confirmed numbers/names till we are absolutely
certain."
Forty nine people were killed and dozens of others were injured in the shootings
by right extremists in two mosques, one in Christchurch and the other in Linwood
suburb, where Muslim worshippers had congregated for Friday prayers, in an otherwise
peaceful New Zealand, in south Pacific.
Twenty-eight-year old Australia-born Brenton Tarrant who lived in Dunedin,
New Zealand, and three others, including a woman, have been arrested. Brenton
Tarrant was produced in the court on Saturday and charged with murders. The
suspect did not seek bail and the next hearing was fixed for April 5.
Brenton Tarrant is a former fitness instructor and said to be a white supremacist
harbouring strong anti-immigrant sentiments.
Five guns were used and he had a gun licence of 2017. Most of the killings
were at the Al Noor mosque in the city where the toll was 41, and the rest at
the mosque in suburban Linwood. There are 48 patients with gunshot wounds undergoing
treatment at Christchurch Hospital.
The imam had just started his sermon when the shooting started. “It was very
peaceful, calm and quiet, as it is when the sermon starts, you could hear a
pin drop. Then suddenly the shooting started. It started in the main room Deans
Ave mosque, an eyewitness said.
Mahmood Nassir, a witness, told the Associated Press that people inside the
mosque jumped fences, hid under cars and ran to the back doors to save themselves.
The Bangladesh cricket team, comprising 17 players and staff, which had arrived
there earlier had a narrow escape. They had alighted from their bus to go in
and were just 50 mts away when the shooting began.
In live streaming online, with a camera mounted most likely on his body, the
attacker is seen coming out of his car with a rifle, going in and raining bullets
on the worshippers.
In a 74-page manifesto released prior to the massacre, the shooter had praised
US President Donald Trump as "a symbol of renewed white identity and common
purpose" and also Anders Breivik, Norwegian white supremacist who murdered 77
people in Norway in 2011, with whom he had contact.
The suspect reportedly said he chose New Zealand to show that even the most
remote parts of the world are "immigrated."
New Zealand Police Commissioner Mike Bush said four people were arrested. “There
were a number of IEDs attached to vehicles that we stopped," he told newsmen.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the "loss of innocent lives" in a note
written to his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted: "I'm saddened & strongly condemn
the shooting of innocent people as they prayed peacefully in mosques in New
Zealand. I express my deepest condolences to the victims' families. Today and
every day, we must stand united against anti-Muslim hatred, & all forms of bigotry
& terror."
US President Donald Trump tweeted: "My warmest sympathy and best wishes goes
out to the people of New Zealand after the horrible massacre in the Mosques.
49 innocent people have so senselessly died, with so many more seriously injured.
The U.S. stands by New Zealand for anything we can do. God bless all!"
Queen Elizabeth II, New Zealand's Head of State, said in a message, "I have
been deeply saddened by the appalling events in Christchurch... At this tragic
time, my thoughts and prayers are with all New Zealanders. Prince Philip and
I send our condolences to the families and friends of those who have lost their
lives."
New Zealand had tightened its laws on semi-automatic rifles in 1992 after a
freak incident of shooting earlier. Jacinda Ardern suspected anti-immigrant
feelings as cause of the attacks. She vowed to change the gun licence rules
further.
