Panic gripped Jama Masjid on Sunday evening when a 32-year-old man made an attempt to set Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari on fire by attacking him with a bottle of kerosene while he was reading namaz of ‘Maghrib’.
“When the namaz was about to finish, the man came from behind and poured kerosene on Shahi Imam Bukhari. However, as the man took out a lighter, he was nabbed by Imam’s security guards. We can’t deny that this attack was planned, but the motive is not clear to us. Further investigation is going on,” said Tariq Bukhari, Imam’s younger brother.
“We were all reading the namaz and suddenly a man attacked the Imam. This could be a case of personal enmity,” Tariq added.
The accused, Kamaluddin, is a resident of 24 Pargana district of West Bengal.
Some people are linking this incident to Trilokpuri riots while others are connecting the dots to the elevation of Shaban Bukhari, son of Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari, as 14th Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid.
“This incident might be linked to what happened in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri area. It is shocking for all to see the Imam being attacked in public,” said Syed Anwar, a local.
Additional Commissioner of Police (Central) Alok Kumar said that Kamaluddin has been taken into custody and questioning is going on.
“The attacker was caught by Imam’s PSOs. He has been taken to the nearby police station,” said Amanullah, Bukhari’s official spokesperson.
Bukhari’s security has been stepped up to prevent recurrence.