RANCHI/JAMSHEDPUR: Eid was celebrated with great fervour in the state amidst heavy deployment of police force in the capital and other sensitive areas on Saturday. Thousands of devotees offered namaaz at various mosques across the state and greet each other on the occasion.Governor Droupadi Murmu and chief minister Raghubar Das extended Eid wishes and appealed to people across every community to enjoy the festival with peace and harmony.In Ranchi, prayers were offered at over 55 places, including Harmu Idgah, Ekra masjid, Jama masjid and other mosques at Doranda and Badgai. The Eid prayers started at around 7AM and concluded by 10AM in the capital. People from different faiths also gathered at the Idgah and wished their Muslim brethren.Dressed in traditional clothes, Muslim community members also visited graves of their dead relatives and prayed for their place in heaven. The devotees went to different parts of the city throughout the day to meet their relatives and friends."The intermingling of people from different faiths during Eid festival is unique. Also, sharing of swaiyyan (sweet dish) among various people adds sweetness to their relationship. Irrespective of the tension that gripped some pockets in the district in the last one week, the festival was observed in a very harmonious manner," said Maulana Syyed Hasan of the Jafaria mosque The district administration was on high alert for the past several days in view of the festival and the clashes between two groups of people at different places in the district. Apart from deployment of police across the city, there was heavy presence of security forces at sensitive places including Ekra Masjid, Kishoreganj, Nagri, Itki, and Khelari. The Ranchi SDO had imposed Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Code as a preventive measure. "We deployed a large number of forces across the city. Certain areas were also under drone surveillance. The festival passed off peacefully. We, however, will be keeping the Rapid Action Force (RAF) force for some more days as a precautionary measure," Ranchi deputy commissioner Rai Mahimapat Ray said.In Jamshedpur and Adityapur, followers of the Islamic faith visited mosques in the early hours and offered special prayers. The festive crowd exchanged Eid greetings with friends and relatives after prayers.The imams performed special prayers in the mosques for peace, brotherhood and religious harmony and send out warm Eid messages to all communities. The district administration made special security arrangements for the occasion. SSP Aup Birthare personally visited the Eidgah Maidan in Mango to take stock of the arrangements.Birthare, clad in uniform with a white skull cap and a black-and-white fish net pattern keffiyeh (chequered scarf) around his neck when arrived at the ground Incidentally, 400 police officers, 1,350 police personnel and QRT teams were deployed at 33 in the twin industrial towns to ensure peace and order.

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