Gurugram: 'Mob of 100 people attacked mosque'

Gurugram, Aug 1 (IANS) A mosque in Gurugram that was set on fire following which an 'imam', Mohammad Saad was killed, was allegedly targeted by a mob of 100 people, in the early hours of Tuesday, the caretaker of the mosque, Izhar, has claimed.

Izhar told the media that a mob of about 100 people ransacked and set on fire the religious place in Gurugram's Sector 57 area.

DCP Nitish Aggarwal has said that Anjuman Jama Masjid located in Sector 57 was set on fire by the mob. 

"We have identified some of the accused and action will be taken soon," he said.

Mohammad Saad, a resident of Bihar, was killed, while one was injured.

According to the FIR, a crowd of 100-120 shouting religious slogans also pelted stones at the police personnel on the spot. 

The people involved in the crowd entered the religious place and started firing. 

During this, Saad, who was inside the mosque, died, while a person named Khurshid Alam was injured by a bullet in his leg.

ASI Sandeep of Haryana Police present on the spot has registered an FIR in the matter. 

Some of the attackers have been identified. 

"The mob opened fire and thrashed Saad with sticks. Saad and Khurshid were caught by the mob, while the other three men saved their lives by hiding," he claimed.

According to Izhar, 4 to 5 policemen were deployed outside the religious place at the time of the attack. 

After the incident, several senior officers of Gurugram Police reached the spot and began an investigation. 

Around six fire bridges had brought the fire under control by morning.

Meanwhile, Mohd Aslam Khan, chairman of the Mosque Management Committee at Sector-57 in Gurugram said that Saad had talked to his brother Shadab at 11 a.m. in the night. 

He was about to return to his home in Bihar by train on the evening of August 1.

Meanwhile, the security around religious places in the area has been strengthened.