Kolkata: A planned protest against the suspension of congregational prayers at the 136-year-old mosque inside Kolkata airport fizzled out on Friday after a massive deployment of police and central forces prevented supporters of the Bankra mosque committee from assembling near the airport, prompting the protesters to call off the demonstration.Responding to a protest call by West Bengal Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind president Siddiqullah Chowdhury, hundreds of supporters, sporting black badges, started gathering on Jessore Road to protest against the current restriction on the entry into the mosque. But police cited prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS, which bars the assembly of more than four persons, and refused permission for any gathering or prayer near the airport.In a bid to thwart the protest, police turned the stretch into a virtual fortress right in the morning. Two CRPF companies, around 250 personnel from Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate and a large number of officers in riot gear were deployed in the locality. Barricades were erected, a fire engine was stationed nearby and water cannons and tear-gas units were kept on standby. Police also held route marches in lanes around Chowdhury’s residence and stopped people entering the neighbourhood from outside.Chowdhury, who on Thursday urged people to assemble at Gate No. 7 on Jessore Road from 11.30 am for a peaceful demonstration against the bar on the entry to the mosque, arrived at the Bankra crossing around noon with a handful of supporters and sought permission from police to proceed with the original programme. But when police did not allow him to alight from his vehicles, he left, announcing the protest was being withdrawn and that prayers would be offered elsewhere.Munshi Jamil Ahmed, secretary of the mosque committee, said supporters were prevented from reaching the mosque and were also denied permission to offer namaz on the service road. “We then offered prayers at the Jamiat office near Bankra Bazaar,” he said.Ahmed maintained that the mosque, built in 1890 on land donated by his great-grandfather Akher Munshi, was never acquired during airport expansion in 1962. He said devotees complied with all the directives even as security measures became more stringent over the years, including permission, Aadhaar check and door-frame metal detector scans. He argued there was never any security breach linked to worshippers. “We are protesting against the manner in which the ban was imposed by misleading us, first telling us about low visibility and then, work being undertaken on the access road. It has been a week but there has been no official communique from the airport authority on why access was stopped. We have no option but to seek legal remedy after another round of discussions,” Ahmed said.The suspension of prayers at the airport mosque has sparked a political row. While chief minister Suvendu Adhikari maintained that the restriction is driven solely by airport and national security considerations, BJP MLA Sourav Sikder questioned the insistence on offering prayers inside the airport zone, alleging Chowdhury was attempting to provoke communal sentiments. “There are several other mosques nearby. So why is Siddiqullah Chowdhury so upset about not being allowed to offer prayers inside that high-security zone? We need to examine whether any foreign forces are involved behind this. Chowdhury makes a business out of religion. To keep that business going, he is provoking Muslims,” Sikder claimed.
