Namaz at Maharashtra's Malegaon civic body’s electricity office sparks controversy

NASHIK: A video showing a group of nine or 10 Malegaon residents offering namaz inside the electricity department of the Malegaon Municipal Corporation on Monday sparked a controversy on Wednesday, with senior BJP politicians demanding action against those involved.

Speaking to reporters in Malegaon, a representative of the residents concerned said there was no power supply in their area on Monday, because of which they had visited the municipal corporation's electricity department. The representative said the officer was not present in his cabin, and it was also time for the Asr prayers, so they offered prayers inside the office. The man said that if they had gone out to offer namaz, the officer would not have met them, and they would have had to leave without the electricity supply being restored in their area.


Malegaon civic chief Ravindra Jadhav confirmed the incident. He said that on Monday, when he was not in the office, the people concerned came to his cabin and created chaos there. He said that after receiving the information, he told his subordinate officer to register a complaint against the people for creating pandemonium in the office, but the concerned employee only gave an application to the police station then.

Jadhav, who is in Mumbai, said that while he was in Mumbai on Wednesday, he received information that a Hindu organisation submitted a memorandum regarding Monday's incident. tate minister Nitesh Rane said that he will certainly call for action in this regard.