A very unusual message circulating on the social media among members of the Muslim community asking them to remain indoor on the 15th day of Ramzan have forced the Mumbai police to be extra cautious during the holy month. The message identifies the fifteenth day as 'Qayamat Ki Raat', which will be falling on Friday (July 3).
According to the sources in the Mumbai police, commissioner Rakesh Maria has taken a serious note of the message, which is believed to have been widely circulated to Muslims.
In a recently conducted meeting of senior officers, Maria stressed the importance of increased vigilance on the streets of Mumbai.
"There has been a message that has been circulated among the fasting community that the 15th day of Ramzan falls on a Friday and it is a 'qayamat ki raat' and the people of the community should avoid going outdoors on that night as any untoward incident could take place," said an officer on the condition of anonymity.
The officer added, "The force has been asked to remain extra alert and vigilant. We are also trying to find out from where this message was generated and what is the real motive."
According to another source in the police, one of the reason for the cops to be wary is that a similar kind of message had spread among the Muslim community through word of mouth during the 1993 serial bomb blasts.
Meanwhile, members of the Muslim Personal Law Board have asked the community not to bother themselves with the message. Maulana Syed Ather Ali, member of the executive body of All India Muslim Personal Law Board said, "There is a message like this going around on social media that there will be a big explosion or some such thing on that night. But there is no such thing. We have also checked it with other people who know about Hadees. They too are saying that there is no such thing (to not go outdoors) and that this should not be taken seriously by the community."
(with inputs from Ashutosh Shukla)
