Before their T20 clash with India in Gwalior, Bangladesh cricket squad did not go to the city’s Moti Masjid, and offered prayers at their hotels instead.
“We had made elaborate security arrangements around Moti Masjid but the Bangladesh team did not turn up. No organisation had given any call to disrupt their visit,” Gwalior Zone Inspector General Arvind Saxena said over the phone.
“The decision to skip the mosque visit might have been taken at the team’s management level,” he said.
From the place that the hotel is located, the mosque in the city is about 3 kilometres away.
The security arrangements have been tightened in the city on the call for a ‘Gwalior Bandh’ on the match day due to protests against atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh.
The official confirmed that ‘Shahar Qazi’ reached the hotel and offered the Bangladeshi players ‘Namaz-e-Juma’ (Friday Prayer) between 1 PM and 2:30 PM.
The official informed that the decision to skip mosque might have been taken at team’s management level, even though they had made security arrangements near the mosque, along with a lot of people from media.
“Providing security to the visiting team over just 3 km was never an issue from our side,” the official said.
Already 2,500 policemen have been deployed for Sunday’s India vs Bangladesh T20I in Gwalior. On Sunday, Police will be on the street from 2PM and will be on duty until spectators reach home after te ending of the game.
