Communal tension in Aurangabad following minaret collapse - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Communal tension continues to prevail in Aurangabad following the collapse of a minaret. During Holi, mosques are covered by canvas as a precautionary measure to prevent the structure from being spoilt by artificial colours. Muslims agitated on seeing one of two minarets in a collapsed state. They claimed Hindus had damaged it during Holi celebrations. Police reached the spot and calmed the two communities. A Muslim cleric, however, claimed that the minaret could have collapsed itself, as it was not strongly built. "For the safety of Masjid (mosque) during Holi, we had put up curtains at the entrance gate. The pillars at the gate, which was not strongly built, must have collapsed due to strong winds," said Maulana Mujeebullah , a Muslim cleric. Mujeebullah appealed to Muslims to observe peace and restraint. "We do not feel that anyone could have tried to tamper with the pillar. We hope to rebuild the pillar in a while and will put iron rod inside the pillar. I appeal to the people to restore peace," he said. Aurangabad 's Police Commissioner Srikanth Savakar said:"The structure was constructed only with a pipe and not with the concrete due to which the pillar must have collapsed. There is no need to blame anyone or insult anyone." Police personnel have been deployed to avoid further incidents.