SHEIKHUPURA: Aug 27 2001: Villagers allegedly ransacked a worship place of Ahmadis and set some of its parts on fire in Syedwala, Sheikhupura, about 50km from here, on Sunday night.

Lahore range DIG, Javed Noor told Dawn that the clash continued for some six hours. However, tension is over now, he claimed and said intervention of local police and reinforcement from other agencies had controlled the situation. He said that all Ahmadi families residing in the locality had been taken into protective custody and a case had been registered against the miscreants.

It is reported that some five Ahmadi families are resident of Syedwala village. At around 9:00pm, the families had assembled at the place of worship - Ahmadiyya Baituzikar - and were watching a religious programme through satellite transmission from Germany. Spiritual leader of the Ahmadis Mirza Tahir was said to be addressing an annual congregation in the programme when the incident took place.

Reports reaching here on Monday said that some villagers objected to the transmission and termed it a "conspiracy" against Islam. Announcements to this effect were made from the mosques and some 400 to 500 villagers surrounded the place of worship.

The villagers allegedly attacked the worship place, forcing the Ahmadis to quit and take shelter in the house of Bisharat Ahmad, who had arranged the programme. The villagers allegedly ransacked the place of worship and set on fire some of its parts.

Later, the villagers also surrounded the house of Bisharat and damaged it. The mob also allegedly broke the TV set and dish receiver that were being used for the transmission.

District administration and police reached the spot and dispersed the mob and took the Ahmadi families into protective custody at around 3am on Monday.

The families were later shifted to Syedwala police station and had not been released till the filing of this report late Monday night.

Bisharat told police that President Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan and Khatm-i-Nabuwat Hafiz Mushtaq and one Maulvi Abdul Ghani had instigated the villagers through the announcements.

Police sources told Dawn that the tension in the village was continued as negotiations in this regard were going on till Monday late night. Officials from district administration, police and army were mediating the matter with locals.