Forensics get down to work at site of blast in mosque, leaders call for calm

The cause behind the explosion in the basement of a mosque in Dasna, Ghaziabad, has not been ascertained yet with the police claiming that they will wait for the FSL report before they register a case.

Muslim leaders have asked residents to maintain peace and not give in to any attempt to "incite violence in the region".

At 9.35 pm on Monday an explosion in the basement of Qazi ka Masjid triggered panic in the area. The mosque is located 2 km from the Adhyatimik Nagar railway station, where torn pages of the Quran were found on September 14 last year. The desecration had led to violence in the area, resulting in the death of six people.

Police officers said the device or substance that caused the explosion was kept outside the basement door. "A road runs adjacent to the basement of the masjid. The object, whatever it was, exploded there. We have reached this conclusion because the door of the room, which was latched from the outside, was pushed in due to the explosion. The explosion shattered the door. We do not know if the explosive was planted or it was an accident. The scientific team has collected samples from the site. We have also brought some carbite, a chemical substance, to see if it can cause a similar explosion and match it with remnants at the site," an officer said.

Mujibur Rehman, Imam of Qazi ka Masjid, said he was inside the mosque with another member of the masjid committee — Javed.

"At 9.35 pm, we were offering the late night prayers in the room, which is just above the basement. We heard a loud blast and white smoke filled the room. The windows came off the hinges. We rushed out. We could not see anyone running away as it was dark. But I have told members of my community to stay calm as this could be just another incident to incite people. Luckily, nobody was hurt," Rehman said.

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