03-07-2025
House used for namaz for 40 yrs sealed by UP cops
Bareilly: A part of a house in a UP village -- which was purportedly used as a prayer hall for namaz for almost four decades -- has been sealed by police in Bareilly's Bhojipura area for "illegal assembly", officials said on Thursday.
Three people, including the house owner, were summoned to the local thana last month and penalised under BNSS section 170 -- 'breach of peace'.
SHO (Bhojipura) Pravin Solanki said on Thursday: "Some people from the village complained of 'disruption of peace in their area due to the frequent gathering of people several times in a day'. So, we locked up that house and challaned the concerned persons. Further investigation is on."
"Police called three of us (neighbours Noor Ahmed, 50; Asgar Ahmed, 52; and Jameel) for a meeting on June 5 -- before Eid -- and explained to us that we were illegally offering prayers and we should stop. When we raised our objections, we were kept in the thana's lockup and penalised for breach of peace. The place was then sealed the next day," the house owner, Jameel Ahmed, told TOI. He said the nearest mosque is 4-km away from their place.
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The 40-year-old owner added: "My father, Bashir Ahmed, had donated the place for private prayers. He died three years ago. He took permission from the then district magistrate (DM) in 2018, and we have proof of that... There were no past cases against us. People have been praying here since 1985." Jameel has a three-room single-storey house of about 1,350 sq feet and its hall room was being used for namaz. Asgar Ali, another villager, said, "Is it possible for the elderly to travel the distance every day? There are around 500 Muslim families in our village.
... This sudden dispute was created for unknown reasons."
Village pradhan, Munish Gangwar, told TOI: "Yes, there is no mosque in the village. So people were offering namaz in that house for a long time. Most of us didn't have any problem with it. But, since a few people have raised concerns, we'll certainly look into it and try to reach common ground with all stakeholders to maintain peace and harmony in our village."
Meanwhile, some local representatives of a political party submitted a memorandum to DM Avinash Singh on Thursday, seeking the resumption of prayer services. The DM, on his part, has sought a detailed report from the SDM on the matter.
SDM (Sadar) Alok Kumar said, "During a public hearing, a memorandum was submitted by AIMIM party members along with a few villagers. A report has been sought from the local police station."
