Companies to face action if their employees offer namaz in parks, warns Noida Police
Noida, Dec 25 (IBNS): The Noida Police has directed multi-national companies that public spaces cannot be used for religious activities, media reports said on Tuesday.
The police directed the companies situated in Sector-58 that they should ask their employees not to offer Friday prayers in community parks.
The companies have been warned that they will be liable for any violation by their employees.
The companies, which have sought a meeting with senior police officers for clarification, also plan to approach the court against the order, sources told NDTV.
After the direction triggered a controversy, the police said the move was not pointed towards any specific religion.
Sources have told NDTV that a few Hindu groups had complained to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Noida claiming that offering namaz in the open "disrupts harmony" in the area.
"It has been observed that some Muslim employees of your company go to Sector-58 park to offer namaz on Fridays. Please tell them not to do so. And if they still go to the park to offer prayers, then the companies will be held responsible for the violation," the order said as reported by the Indian news channel.
Ajay Pal, SSP Noida, said the direction was not religion-specific.
"Some people had sought permission to offer prayers in a park in Sector-58, but they weren't allowed by the city magistrate. And still a lot of people gathered there. The notice aims to discourage all sorts of religious gatherings," Pal told NDTV.
Mualana Nauman, who has been offering namaz in Sector-58 park for the last five years, told NDTV that on December 14, the police told him and others not to offer namaz in Sector-58 park.
Nauman and his friend were arrested four days later even though they had followed the direction, he said.
"My friend Adil Rasheed and I were arrested on December 18 for disrupting peace and harmony, the police told us. We got bail on December 22," he told the news channel.
Earlier this year, issue of offering Friday prayers triggered a row in Gurugram when some people were prevented from reading namaz at a vacant plot in Phase III.
People from Muslim Community told the media that space was taken by them on rent to offer prayers.
In another incident, six men disrupted some people from offering namaz on an open field in Sector 53 with chants of ‘Jai Sri Ram’ on Apr 20.
As per The Indian Express report, the men were arrested before being released on bail. In the wake of the incident, several outfits formed the Sanyukt Hindu Sagharsh Samiti and demanded a ban on namaz in the open
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