LUCKNOW: Hours after being pulled up by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Lucknow police arrested four persons who had allegedly offered namaz inside Lulu Mall and also rounded up one for reciting Hanuman Chalisa.
On Tuesday, police had a tough time when a seer from Ayodhya, Paramhans Das of Tapasvi Chhavni, reached the mall to stage a protest and was whisked away by the police.
In a video which went viral on social media, Paramhans was purportedly heard saying, "I was going alone to the mall in a peaceful manner, but I was not allowed to go. If this is the centre of jihad or that of terrorism, then do not allow anyone to go (there). I was stopped, because I am wearing saffron. This is an insult to saffron," he told journalists.
Police rounded him up as he tried to conduct a purification ceremony on the mall campus but he was later let go.
Those arrested in the namaz reciting incident in the mall that has drawn the national attention were identified as Mohammed Rehan, Atif Khan, both residents of Khurramnagar in Lucknow, and brothers Lukman Ali and Nouman Ali, both residents of Sitapur.
Police said that Atif Khan is a student of B Pharma (II year) at a private college in Lucknow; Lukman is cleric in a Sitapur madrassa where his brother Nouman studies while Mohammed Rehan is a cleric (hafiz).
Lucknow police commissioner DK Thakur said that the four were arrested on the complaint lodged by mall spokesperson Sibtain Hussain on July 14.
“The accused were identified based on the CCTV footage and surveillance,” said Thakur.
When TOI asked about the motive, the police commissioner said that based on the questioning of the four, it emerged that they had come to visit the mall and it was time for offering the daily prayers.
Thakur said that those arrested have been booked under the charges of IPC sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion) 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief).
Thakur also said that four others spotted in the CCTV footage of the mall are yet to be arrested.
Police sources said that a total eight were found offering prayers on the third floor of the mall on July 12. Later, a video of the incident had gone viral on social media.
Soon after this, the mall management put up billboards saying the mall does not allow its staff to gather for acts like holding prayers.
Thus far, around 50 members of various right-wing outfits have been detained for attempting to offer Hanuman Chalisa on the mall campus.
Assistant commissioner of police, Gosaiganj, Swati Chaudhary said that security has been strengthened both inside and outside the mall. “We are using drones while cops in civvies have been deployed inside the mall to keep a watch on visitors,” she said.
General manager of the mall, Sameer Verma, in a video message said that they respect all religions. “No religious work or worship is allowed inside the mall. We train our staff and security personnel to keep an eye on such activities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the mall management, in a statement, had said that 80% of its staff are Hindus. The mall was inaugurated by UP CM Yogi Adityanath on July 10.
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