A hospital in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, constituted a probe committee after a video of a woman offering namaz on its premises surfaced online on Friday, 23 September.
Responding to media reports of an FIR being filed against the woman, Prayagraj [olice on Friday said that the woman has committed no crime and no FIRs were lodged in relation to the incident.
"In the probe of the viral video, it was found that the woman without any wrong intention or without obstructing any work or movement had offered prayers for the speedy recovery of her patient admitted in the hospital," the police said in a tweet.
The superintendent of Tej Bahadur Sapru Hospital, Dr MK Akhauri, told PTI that a woman named Sabiha had come on Thursday to meet a patient admitted in the dengue ward. In the afternoon, she started offering namaz in the ward itself.
Someone made a video of her and posted it on social media, after which the hospital administration reached the ward and warned the woman not to offer namaz there, Akhauri said. The hospital administration has now constituted a committee to probe the incident, he added.
This incident comes against the backdrop of an increasing opposition against the offering of namaz in public spaces, especially in Uttar Pradesh, even though there are no laws against it.
In August, for example, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case against 16 people for offering namaz together in a house in the state's Moradabad district, without taking prior permission from authorities. The case was, however, later expunged.
On 11 September, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) harassed Muslim pilgrims in Shahajanapur and sent them to the local police station for allegedly offering namaz on the roadside.
The travellers were made to apologise and a couple of them were compelled to hold their ears and do sit-ups, the video further revealed.
(With inputs from PTI)
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