Four arrests —Mohammad Rehan, Aatif Khan, Mohammad Lokman, Mohammad Noman—have been made by the Lucknow Police as offenders on the “namaz” performing row in the newly opened Lulu Mall in the state capital.
All four are residents of the Indirangar police station in Lucknow.
Dhruv Kant Thakur, the Lucknow Police Commissioner, has stated that a complaint has been filed against the four apprehended suspects under sections 153A(1), 341, 505, and 295A. Four other suspects in the case are being sought by police.
Incidentally, Siasat Daily, an Islamist website, had claimed that men who offered namaz at the mall were not Muslims. Some “Liberals”, such as Arfa Khanum Sherwani, Rohini Singh, RJ Sayema had twisted an arrest made in a separate incident to claim that those offering namaz were not Muslims but Hindus.
The official Lucknow Police Twitter handle also issued a clarification, noting that social media accusations that all men were detained for offering namaz were false and misleading.
The Lulu mall in Lucknow, the largest in Uttar Pradesh, was embroiled in a conspiracy just days after it opened after a video of a few people offering Namaz inside the mall went viral on July 12.
In reaction to the incident, the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha announced that a Sundarkand recital will be held within the mall. The Hindu Mahasabha cancelled the Sundarkand recital after the mall’s management apologised for the Namaz incident.
