Four people were arrested by the Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday, 19 July, days after a video of them offering namaz at Lucknow's Lulu Mall went viral on social media, triggering a controversy.
The four people have been identified as Mohammad Rehan, Atif Khan, Mohd Lokman, and Mohd Noman, all residents of Lucknow's Indira Nagar area.
They were arrested after an FIR was registered by the police on the basis of a complaint by the mall authorities last week.
Image of the four people arrested by the UP police.
(Photo: UP Police)
The controversy flared following demands of several Hindu right wing groups, including Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM), seeking permission for a recital of Hanuman Chalisa in the mall premises.
The groups also accused the mall authorities of discriminating against Hindus while hiring the staff and resorting to 'love jihad.'
A complaint by the ABHM to the police had alleged that 70 percent of the mall staff were Muslim men, while the rest were women from the Hindu community.
Refuting the claims, the mall authorities on 17 July said that over 80 percent of the mall staff was Hindu. "Our employees are hired on the basis of skills and merit, and not based on the caste, class, or religion," the authorities said.
Following complaints by the mall authorities and the ABHM, the police booked unknown persons under the sections 295A (Deliberate and malicious intention of outraging the religious feelings of any class), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
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