Date:20/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/20/stories/2007052005590600.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Security at Masjid withdrawn only after talks: CM

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy here on Saturday said it was in compliance with the request made by clerics and elders of the community that the Government had withdrawn security around the Mecca Masjid in the old city sometime ago.

Speaking to reporters after an emergency Cabinet meeting to review the situation in the wake of Friday's bomb blast, he said the Government used to deploy mounted police and others at the Masjid during Friday prayers but the clerics and elders objected to the police presence outside a holy place.

They had even asked whether the Government was treating all Muslims as terrorists.