The Muslim man who offered Namaz at the Chandi Mandir in the Hapur district of Uttar Pradesh on Friday, June 9, 2023, has been arrested by the Hapur police from Bulandshahr Road. The accused has been identified as Anwar Ali, a resident of Sarai Basarat in Hapur. The arrest comes after an FIR was registered on the complaint lodged by Shri Sidhpeeth Chandi Devi Temple’s secretary Satnarain Agarwal at the Kotwali Sadar police station.
CO City Ashok Kumar said that the eyewitnesses inside the temple alleged that a man laid a mat on the temple floor and started performing Namaz-like actions at 4.42 a.m on Friday.
CO Kumar also informed that an FIR has been registered under sections 295 (injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 298 (deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of any person) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The members of the temple committee, the devotees present there and the members of Hindu organisations raised objections to the Muslim man’s act and demanded strict action. The temple committee members alleged that when they opposed the accused person’s attempt to offer namaz inside the temple, he verbally abused them and threatened to blow up the Chandi Devi Temple to pieces. The committee further alleged that the 44-year-old accused Anwar Ali also raised ‘Gazwa-e-Hind’ slogans on the temple premises.
Meanwhile, Hapur SP Abhishek Verma said that the accused was identified based on the CCTV footage. Following the arrest, police questioned the accused who reportedly said that temples and mosques are places of worship, so he thought of offering namaz inside a Hindu temple. The Hapur SP added a thorough background check of the accused is being conducted. The police are also probing the motive behind the accused Anwar Ali’s act. He also stated that no trace of any sort of conspiracy has been found so far in the investigation.
थाना हापुड़ नगर व जनपदीय एसओजी की संयुक्त पुलिस टीम द्वारा त्वरित कार्यवाही करते हुए अल्प समय में मंदिर परिसर में नमाज पढ़ने वाले व्यक्ति/अभियुक्त को गिरफ्तार किये जाने के संबंध में पुलिस अधीक्षक @vermaabhishek25 महोदय का आधिकारिक वक्तव्य..
— HAPUR POLICE (@hapurpolice) June 9, 2023
.@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/3Z8qhbTr0o
After the accused was thrashed out of the temple by the devotees present there on Friday, the temple committee purified the premises with the holy Gangajal to reinstate the sanctity of the temple.
