Three hour curfew relaxation for SZ

As the Friday prayers passed off peacefully, Hyderabad city police on Friday declared that curfew would be relaxed in the 17 police station limits in South Zone from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday and from 8 am to 10 am in 10 police station limits of the West Zone.

Earlier, Police Commissioner AK Khan had said that a decision on the relaxation would be taken later in the day. He had said, ''the situation is fully under control. No untoward incidents were reported so far from anywhere. We will take a decision on relaxing curfew tomorrow if there are no further incidents later today.''

Mr Khan undertook a padayatra, covering several parts of the Old City on foot to instil confidence in the people caught in curfew zones. He interacted with a cross section of the people, including religious leaders. He told media persons that leaders of both the communities had come to an understanding to work jointly for restoration of communal amity.

Earlier, the Friday prayers were held at homes in many places in the communally sensitive parts of the Old City while around 21 companies of Central forces, besides Andhra Pradesh Special Police and elite OCTOPUS kept vigil in 25 police station limits.

All roads leading to Mecca Masjid in the Old City wore a deserted look as police put up a two-layered barbed wire security fencing.