Devotees pray at the dargah on Friday. Picture by Rohit Jain

Ajmer, Oct. 12: Hameeda Begum has just finished praying and her serene, black eyes are shining with resolute defiance.

She puts into words the silent message sent out by the thousands who have arrived at the Ajmer Sharif dargah, undeterred by yesterday’s blast, to offer their last Jumma prayers before Id.

“This holy place is not just for Muslims. People from 36 faiths converge here, at the dargah of Khwaja Saheb, for wish fulfilment,” says the Congress worker who has come from Jaipur to show solidarity with the victims.

“Those behind the blast are neither Hindus nor Muslims: they don’t belong to any religion.”

The mood at the shrine to the 12th-century Sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, is heavy with an undercurrent of dogged determination.

Devotees, wearing black bands in protest against the bombing that left two persons dead and 17 injured, are huddled in groups across the spacious compound. Many are discussing the blast and condemning the attackers in a hushed voice.

The site of the blast, the foot of the neem tree in Begami Dalan, has been cordoned off. Every devotee walking towards the main shrine seems to be throwing a glance at the blood-stained spot across the yard, still littered with bottles, plates and food.

The stone platform around the tree is damaged, so is the CCTV data recorder.

“We held a peace march of Hindus and Muslims immediately after the explosion to instil confidence among the people, which worked,” says Puroshottam, a cap seller with a shop that is 60 years old. “See, everything is normal and people are coming as usual.”

About 95 per cent of the shops outside, in the dargah bazaar, are owned by Hindus. They opened in the morning and shut down just before the prayers began at 1.30pm.

The crowd of devotees swelled as prayer time neared, although the number of women and children was less than usual. The police watched the premises while the BSF manned the perimeter.

Mohammad Sohail, a central dargah committee member, said: “We are looking at ways to increase security. The dargah committee will meet soon.”

Seven held

Seven persons have been detained and pilgrims of Bangladeshi origin questioned but no arrests have been made.

A police search team stumbled on a blue bag containing an unexploded bomb near the main gate today. The crude bomb, apparently similar to the one that went off inside a lunch box last evening, has been defused.

The two dead have been identified as Mohammad Shoaib of Mumbai and Sayeed Salim of Hyderabad.

“We have been here for ages and will continue to stay and fight for harmony,” said Khadim Sayeed Roshan Chishti. “We’ll show the world that Khwaja Saheb is rightly called a messenger of peace.”