Friday prayers pass off peacefully in Old City

HYDERABAD: Though there was tension in the air, the old city of Hyderabad remained peaceful amid tight police bandobust for the Friday prayers. Around noon, scores of Muslims offered prayers at the historic Mecca Masjid even as the police kept a tight vigil. Policemen in large numbers were deployed at all points leading to the Masjid while barricades were erected at some points to prevent the entry of vehicles till the community members dispersed from the mosque.Across old city, people dispersed peacefully giving the police, who kept their fingers crossed, a sigh of relief.The police officials had stepped up vigil from Thursday night following certain inputs that some groups were out to create trouble to disturb peace but with increased patrolling, no untoward incident was reported.Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed between 9 a.m and 5 p.m in Saidabad and Madannapet areas on Friday. The in-charge Hyderabad police commissioner Anurag Sharma has decided to relax curfew for a longer period on Saturday.