An iftar party by the police, for everyone

‘It is a small gesture from the Police Department to promote communal harmony’

People visiting Masjid-e-Mamoor in Koramangala on Sunday evening were pleasantly surprised as police officials in uniform greeted them at the gate and distributed fruits and dates to break the fast.

After two years, the Madiwala sub-division police, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police Sudhir Hegde, have started organising iftar parties at mosques under their jurisdiction.

“It is a small gesture from the Police Department to promote communal harmony and to create awareness among the community members that the department is with them,” a senior police officer said.

The jurisdictional police team, including the inspector, the sub-inspector, and staff members, take part in the iftar party and dinner arranged after namaz. Committee members of the adjacent Ganesha and Sai Baba temples and Hindu community members were also invited to join the iftar party.

“We are happy with the gesture of police officials. Such programmes are meaningful in this situation and we should counter the efforts of some fringe elements to disturb communal harmony,” Sameer, a resident of Adugodi, said.

The Madiwala sub-division police are planning to organise iftar parties in all the 19 mosques coming under their jurisdiction. “We have covered nine mosques so far. We will be covering the remaining 10 in the coming days,” the officer in charge of the programme added.

Meanwhile, Muslim community members on Sunday attended Ramanavami celebration at the century-old Sri Rama temple in Adugodi and distributed panaka and kosambari to the devotees.