Ahead of their T20 clash with India in Gwalior, the Bangladesh cricket team did not visit the city’s Moti Masjid on Friday and instead prayed at their hotel, a police official said on Saturday.
“We had made elaborate security arrangements around Moti Masjid but the Bangladeshi team did not turn up. No organization has called to disrupt their visit,” Inspector General of Gwalior Zone Arvind Saxena told PTI over phone. The mosque in the city’s Phoolbagh area is about 3 km from the hotel where visitors are accommodated.
Security in the city was beefed up amid calls for a “Gwalior bandh” on the day of the match by right-wing outfits to protest alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government there in August.
“The decision to skip the mosque visit may have been taken at the team’s management level,” he said.
The official confirmed that the ‘Shahar Qazi’ (the city’s top Muslim cleric) had reached the hotel and had led the Bangladeshi cricketers to offer ‘Namaz-e-Juma’ (Friday prayer) between 1pm and 2.30pm. hours.
The official said they have made elaborate security arrangements outside the mosque where several media persons are also waiting.
The distance between the hotel and the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium, where the Bangladesh team has been training since October 3, is about 23 km and the players move freely as per their schedule under security.
“Providing security to the visiting team just 3 km away has never been a problem from our end,” the official said.
Already, over 2,500 police personnel have been deployed for Sunday’s India-Bangladesh T20I in Gwalior, he said.
On Sunday, the cops will be on the streets from 2 p.m. They will be on duty until the spectators go home after the match, police said.
After banning orders were issued two days ago, police are also monitoring social media for inflammatory material, officials said.
