BeyondHeadlines News Desk
New Delhi: Noida police has threatened companies in the area that if their employees continue to offer Friday prayers in a particular park in Sector 58, they will be held responsible. According to media reports, 58 police stations in the area were instructed to notify companies in the area that they will be held responsible if their employees offer Friday namaz in a certain park because some people have complained against the same. According to these reports, some Muslims have also been arrested for “disrupting peace”.
Taking cognisance of media reports, Chairman of the Delhi Minorities Commission Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan has written to the Director General of U.P. Police, Mr Om Prakash, expressing his anguish. Dr Khan said in his letter that U.P. police force has been receiving bad coverage, especially in the case of over a thousand encounters undertaken by the force in recent years. Dr Khan further said in his letter, “Recently, we watched in disbelief that your force downplayed the murder of an officer in Siyana, giving the message that cow slaughter was more serious a crime than the murder of an Inspector of Police.”
Dr Khan further said in his letter to the U.P. DGP that “it is totally illegal to hold an employer responsible for the acts of his employees. This is transgressing limits by a force which should meticulously follow the law and implement same without any bias against anyone.”
Dr Khan added in his letter to the U.P. DGP, “I hope you will take notice of these trends in your force and sanitise them about their role to follow the Constitution and laws of the land in letter and spirit. And if there is a problem about a certain park, the police should allow namaz on Fridays in some other park or open space as has been done in Gurgaon. After all, it is just a question of barely half an hour of a congregation in which mats are brought by people and same are taken back after the namaz.”
Dr Khan further said in his letter, “Freedom of religion has been guaranteed by our Constitution (Articles 25-28) and offering namaz in a congregation on Fridays is part of a Muslim’s religious beliefs. Police and administration should make sure that this activity does not extend to the erection of any permanent structure at a public place(s) where Friday namaz is offered due to non-availability of a mosque in the vicinity.”
