DAYS AFTER a pic was circulated online of a group of men offering namaz inside the newly opened Lulu Mall in Lucknow, triggering allegations of religious bias against the establishment, the police on Tuesday arrested four persons who, they said, figured in that clip on charges of promoting enmity between groups.
The arrests came a day after UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pulled up the Lucknow administration and directed them to take “strict action against miscreants who create nuisance and try to vitiate the atmosphere”.
The four arrested have been identified as Lucknow residents Mohammad Rehan and Atif Khan, and Sitapur residents Mohammad Lokman and Mohammad Noman. According to the police, preliminary investigations have shown that there was “no motive” behind their act of offering prayer inside the mall
All those arrested are in their 20s and related to each other, the police said, adding that Lokman and Noman are brothers. Rehan, Atif and Lokman are students while Noman helps his father in the family business, the police said.
Late on Monday night, Adityanath said that a “commercial establishment has been turned into a political ground”. “Unnecessary statements are being made by certain people and demonstrations are being organised to obstruct the movement of people,” he said.
Saying that a “malicious attempt” is being made to create communal disharmony, the Chief Minister said: “Strict action should be taken against miscreants who are trying to create disturbance and spoil the atmosphere by promoting unnecessary issues.”
Lucknow Police Commissioner D K Thakur said the identity of four others seen in the video is yet to be ascertained. Additional Divisional Commissioner of Police (Lucknow) Rajesh Srivastava said the police traced the four arrested with the help of surveillance and electronic devices.
The namaz video had triggered a social media campaign against the mall, with allegations that it had employed mostly members of the Muslim community from outside the state. In response, the Rs 2,000-crore mall, which is part of the UAE-based Lulu Group with an annual turnover of $8 bn, took an unusual step and released a statement saying that “over 80 per cent” of its staff was Hindu.
Also on Monday, the police detained a man who identified himself as Mahant Paramhans Das from Ayodhya. The man was detained outside the mall after he entered into an argument with the police posted there. He was released later, the police said.
The mall was opened to the public on July 11, a day after its inauguration by the Chief Minister.
After the namaz video went viral, the mall management registered a case over the incident on July 14 under IPC sections 153-A (1) (promoting enmity between groups), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 505 (statements conducing to public
Written by Manish verma | Lucknow |
Updated: July 20, 2022
