New Delhi, Sep 19 : None of the 20 CCTVs at the historic Jama Masjid here were working and the mosque officials had recently returned them to the Wakf Board which installed them at the 16th century mosque.
The security lacunae at one of the biggest mosques in the country which is visited by pilgrims and foreign tourists came to light as two motorcycle-borne men fired at a tourist vehicle carrying Taiwanese nationals, injuring two of them.
The mosque authorities claim they have been telling the Union Home Ministry, verbally and in writing, to increase the security at the mosque, which witnessed two bomb blasts in quick succession on April 14, 2006.
Shahi Imam Ahmed Bukhari had in May this year written to Home Minister P Chidambaram seeking security upgrading at the mosque and suggested measures like installing CCTVs and deployment of CRPF personnel for security.
"None of the CCTVs installed by Wakf Board was working. We had written to them about it but no action was taken. We send them back recently," Syed Tarique Bukhari, General Secretary of Jama Masjid's Consultative Committee, said.
Tarique Bukhari also said the Shahi Imam had sought the deployment of CRPF personnel at the mosque as it is one of the prominent mosques in the country.
"We need exceptionally trained people to man this mosque as it had been targeted by terrorists in 2006," he said.
Officials of Wakf Board could not be contacted for comments.
A senior Delhi Police official said they accord high priority to the security of the mosque.PTI
