In Kanpur, FIRs have been lodged against 1700 Muslims in three police stations for offering Eid namaz on the road. Police said that despite the ban on offering namaz on the streets, it was offered on the road outside Jajmau, Babupurwa, and Badi Idgah Benazhabar on April 22. FIRs have been lodged against 200 to 300 worshippers in Jajmau, 40 to 50 in Babupurwa, and 1500 in Bajaria. Those booked include members of the Idgah Committee.
Begumpurwa outpost in-charge Brijesh Kumar said, “A peace committee meeting was held before Eid. In this, the people of the area were told that namaz will not be offered on the road. Eid prayers will be offered only inside Idgahs and mosques. It was also said that if a Muslim misses namaz due to the crowd, then alternative arrangements will be made by the police.”
On April 22, just before the prayers began at the Idgah on the day of Eid, a crowd of thousands suddenly gathered on the road in front of the Idgah. Despite the ban, everyone started praying on the road. The police tried to stop them, but they did not obey the instructions by the police.
On the complaint of the outpost in charge, the police have registered an FIR against the members of the Idgah Committee and those who offered namaz there. CCTV footage is being used to identify those who offered namaz on the road.
Babupurwa police have registered a case against the worshippers under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in public duty), 188 (obstructing crowd in violation of section 144), 283 (obstructing a crowd by blocking the road), 341 (wrongful restraint) and obstructing public service and section 353.
An FIR was also lodged at Bajaria police station against 1,500 people, including the Idgah Committee and its members, for offering namaz on the road despite the ban. “Even after the police personnel refused, people sat on the road and offered namaz, leading to traffic jams”, said the FIR.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has reacted over the FIR. A board member Mohammed Suleman said, “A particular community is being targeted. It seems that the nation belongs to only one religion. Prayers were held inside the campus of mosques and Idgahs. There is no such big Idgah in Babupurwa. If people get no space for 10 minutes, they pray on the road. Similarly, prayers were held on the road in Babupurwa, but the station in charge of Babupurwa lodged an FIR.”
He added, “Unfortunately, the trial is not for offering namaz on the street, but for obstructing public service, which is a serious offense and the second is under the Epidemic Act. This is the mindset of our government on which such enthusiastic policemen are working. This is condemnable, and not good for society.”
Mohammed Suleman further said, “Our society is governed by the Constitution. Article 19 of the Constitution protects the religious beliefs and cultural things of all communities, but this government is not running on the Constitution. Yogi’s government is flouting the Constitution.”
He also said, “The government is doing such things that people are being killed in police custody. The police watched silently. They didn’t shoot at the killers, all this is happening. In Farrukhabad, people offered namaz on the platform, so where did the unrest spread? The public did nothing, the police did. In Moradabad, an FIR was lodged for offering prayers on the roof.”
