Modi to meet head of Dawoodi Bohra sect in Indore

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet the religious head of Dawoodi Bohra community, Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, at a mosque here on Friday and address the community members, officials said.

The prime minister will meet Syedna Saifuddin at the Saifi Nagar mosque here, where the head of Dawoodi Bohra community is holding a nine-day religious discourse since Wednesday, they said.

Dawoodi Bohras are a sub sect within the Ismaili branch of Shia Islam. Thousands of community members have arrived here from various parts of the world to hear their religious head's sermons.

Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will also be present during Modi's visit.

The prime minister's visit here also assumes significance as Assembly polls are due in the BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh by year-end.

Around 2.5 lakh Dawoodi Bohras are estimated to live in the state, mainly in Indore, Ujjain and Burhanpur districts.

In view of the prime minister's visit, security has been ramped up, Indore range Deputy Inspector General of Police H C Mishra said.

Police would employ drone cameras to keep an eye over the city along with 150 CCTV cameras, he said.

About 3,500 policemen have been deployed in the city, Mishra added.