After Namaz Row, Hindu Event on Govt Land Stopped in Greater Noida

A nine-day “Bhagwat Katha”, a Hindu religious event, was scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

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(Photo courtesy: Twitter/@Suresh Chavhanke)

Days after the Noida police issued a notice restricting religious activities from being held at Sector 58 ground without prior permission, the Greater Noida Authority on Wednesday, 26 December, removed a tent placed for a Hindu religious event in Sector 37. The event was reportedly taking place on a government land.

Speaking to IANS, an officer from the Greater Noida Authority said:

“We received information about the programme being held on a 1,000 sq mt land which belongs to the Greater Noida Authority. Since no permission was sought by the organisers, we disallowed holding of this event.”

A nine-day "Bhagwat Katha", a Hindu religious programme, was scheduled to begin from Wednesday on the land, he told IANS.

"The organisers had placed tents and loudspeakers at the site which were removed. We directed the organisers to first take permission from the district administration to perform such religious ceremony," the officer added.

Following the incident, several people staged a protest outside the Authority office and raised slogans.

When The Quint contacted the Circle Officer at the Greater Noida City 1st police station, he denied the involvement of police in the event.

“The disbanding etc, was carried out by a team from the Greater Noida Authority. No police officials from our police team was a part of this.”

Circle Officer at the Greater Noida City 1st police station

Earlier, the Noida police had issued a notice to around 23 multinational companies in Sector 58 Police Station area to stop their Muslim employees from gathering in a local park without permission for offering Friday namaz.

The administration said such religious gatherings at public places are unauthorised and cannot be performed without the administration’s permission.

(With inputs from IANS.)