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TN tense after mosque attack

Tamil Nadu was tense after miscreants hurled a crude bomb into a mosque and hacked a man to death in the communally-sensitive Tirunelveli district.

The Karunanidhi government has transferred investigations into the case to the Crime Branch-CID, while the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam called for a state-wide bandh Monday, to protest against the attack.

After Saturday night's attack on the Mariam Alfeel Masjid at Palayamkottai, near Tirunelveli town, and the killing of 45-year-old Abdul Rasheed, security has been provided to all 'sensitive' mosques and Muslim-majority localities.

The police stated that the mob had not specifically targeted Rasheed, a shop-owner from Pulyinakudi town and a member of a Tableequ Jamad, or a fraternal community working in a neighbouring mosque to implore the faithful to attend namaaz.

"There is also no reason to suggest that the mob targeted him," the police say. "He happened to be there and was the first to challenge them. The miscreants probably did not expect 10 persons in the mosque after the day's namaaz ."

Some reports said a pipe bomb was hurled, while others said it was a petrol bomb. "We will get to the truth," the police added.

Tirunelveli district is communally sensitive. Muslims in the Palayamkottai-Mettupalayam belt, as also smaller communities elsewhere in the district, had protested after the demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya eight years back.

Official sources did not rule out a 'motivated provocation' ahead of the assembly polls in April-May. Given the history of violent elections -- the Rajiv Gandhi assassination in 1991; the Coimbatore blasts of 1998; and caste and communal clashes -- the police are not ruling out anything.

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