In fresh developments in the Lulu Mall namaz controversy, four men have been arrested in connection with a July 12 video that showed them offering namaz on the mall premises.

The men have been identified as Mohammed Rehan of Lucknow, Atif Khan of Mohammedi in Lakhimpur Kheri district, and brothers Mohammed Lokman Ali and Mohammed Noman Ali of Laharpur in Sitapur district.

थाना सुशांत गोल्फ सिटी पुलिस टीम द्वारा लू0 लू0 माल में बिना अनुमति नमाज पढ़ने वाले 04 वांछित अभियुक्तगण गिरफ्तार।#UPPolice#Lkopolice_On_Duty@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/vR74K6jyR4

— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE LUCKNOW (@lkopolice) July 19, 2022

Police have also clarified that the three Hindu and one Muslim man who had been arrested on July 15 did not appear in the Namaz video from July 12. This was to put an end to widespread rumours on social media about the men in the video not being Muslims, but instead being miscreants posing as Muslims to disrupt communal harmony.

Police have now clarified that three Hindu men, namely – Saroj Nath Yogi, Krishna Kumar Pathak and Gaurav Goswami – were arrested on July 15 when they tried to recite Hanuman Chalisa in the mall. The fourth, a Muslim man named Arshad Ali was also arrested on the same day for trying to offer namaz in the mall.

However, none of these men appeared in the namaz video.

सोशल मीडिया पर लू-लू मॉल प्रकरण के सम्बन्ध में कुछ युवकों का नाम लेकर भ्रामक खबरें प्रसारित की जा रही है, जो कि पूर्णतया असत्य है ।

लखनऊ कमिश्नरेट पुलिस इस भ्रामक खबर का पूर्ण रूप से खण्डन करती है।@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/KREhWwnAZu

— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE LUCKNOW (@lkopolice) July 18, 2022

The rumours had been sparked when it was pointed out that at least one of the eight men seen in the video was not facing the correct direction while offering namaz, and that the men finished namaz in 18 seconds, instead of the usual 7-8 minutes. This discrepancy was also reported in several publications like National Herald and Amar Ujala. This, along with the Police’s previous tweet about the arrest of the three Hindu men caused to confusion, leading many to conclude that the men in the video didn’t know the first thing about offering the traditional Islamic prayer, and may have just been putting on a show for the cameras, perhaps in a bid to spark communal discord.

Lulu Mall is one of the largest retail outlets in northern India, boasting 300 shops spread over 2.2 million square feet with an 11-storey parking space. It is owned by Yussuffali M.A. from Kerala who runs the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu Group, the multinational conglomerate. A few days after its inauguration, a video showing a few people offering namaz in a corner of the shopping mall, went viral on social media.

This sparked controversy and the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha then demanded that people boycott the mall. The group’s national spokesperson Shishir Chaturvedi was quoted by India Today as saying, “People offered namaz sitting on the floor in Lulu Mall, this video proves that government orders were violated in the mall. The government has directed that namaz cannot be offered in public spaces.” He also told The Telegraph, “We have also learnt that 70 per cent of the mall employees are Muslim and 30 per cent are Hindus. The mall is promoting Muslims and Islam.” Group members also alleged that a majority of the male employees were Muslim, while female employees were Hindu, sparking allegations of “Love Jihad”.

The organisation then filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Lucknow Police, against “unknown Namazis” under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, mall authorities put up notices in different parts of the mall saying, “No religious prayers will be permitted in the mall.” After initial investigations, the police also found that no mall employee was involved in the incident.

Related:

Lucknow: Were Lulu mall “namazis” part of conspiracy to disrupt communal harmony?

Lucknow: Lulu mall authorities put up notices prohibiting religious prayers on mall premises

The post Lucknow: Four men arrested for Lulu Mall namaz video appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In new information emerging about the men who performed namaz at Lulu mall in Lucknow on July 12, it appears that at least one of them was not facing the correct direction for the prayer. Moreover, the men finished their prayers in just a few seconds, suggesting that they didn’t know the first thing about offering the traditional Islamic prayer, and may have just been putting on a show for the cameras, perhaps in a bid to spark communal discord.

According to a report in National Herald, CCTV footage of the incident suggests that “it was a deliberate mischief to malign the mall and cause enmity and hatred between communities.” According to the report, eight men entered the mall together, but did not visit any shops or make any purchases. They just looked for a place to perform namaz. The men first tried the basement, ground floor and first floor, but could not find any space, as the mall that was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on July 10, had been attracting heavy footfalls ever since. They finally found some space on the second floor and six out of the eight quickly sat down for prayers while two others recorded videos.

According to another report in Amar Ujala, the men finished their prayers in a record 18 seconds! This despite the fact that ordinarily namaz takes at least 7-8 minutes. Also, it needs to be performed while facing kaba in Mecca, i.e west, but at least one of the men in the videos was not facing this direction. All this has given rise to concerns that perhaps the men had never performed namaz and were just staging the entire incident to disrupt communal harmony.

Lulu Mall is one of the largest retail outlets in northern India, boasting 300 shops spread over 2.2 million square feet with an 11-storey parking space. It is owned by Yussuffali M.A. from Kerala who runs the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu Group, the multinational conglomerate. A few days after its inauguration, a video showing a few people offering namaz in a corner of the shopping mall, went viral on social media.

This sparked controversy and the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha then demanded that people boycott the mall. The group’s national spokesperson Shishir Chaturvedi was quoted by India Today as saying, “People offered namaz sitting on the floor in Lulu Mall, this video proves that government orders were violated in the mall. The government has directed that namaz cannot be offered in public spaces.” He also told The Telegraph, “We have also learnt that 70 per cent of the mall employees are Muslim and 30 per cent are Hindus. The mall is promoting Muslims and Islam.” Group members also alleged that a majority of the male employees were Muslim, while female employees were Hindu, sparking allegations of “Love Jihad”.

The organisation then filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Lucknow Police, against “unknown Namazis” under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Meanwhile, mall authorities put up notices in different parts of the mall saying, “No religious prayers will be permitted in the mall.” After initial investigations, the police also found that no mall employee was involved in the incident.

सोशल मीडिया पर वायरल वीडियो जिसमें लुलु मॉल परिसर में नमाज पढ़ने के संबंध में – थाना सुशांत गोल्फ सिटी ।@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/7OBoPplfKn

— POLICE COMMISSIONERATE LUCKNOW (@lkopolice) July 14, 2022

Subsequently, a few members of another Hindutva group tried to enter the premises and chant Sundar Kand (a part of the Ramayana) on Friday, but they were apprehended by the police. ADCP South, Lucknow, Rajesh Srivastava had at time, told the Hindustan Times, “Three people were detained from the entry gate of Lulu Mall in Lucknow for allegedly attempting to recite Sundar Kand inside the mall premises.” They reportedly belonged to the Hindu Samaj Party.

Related:

Lucknow: Lulu mall authorities put up notices prohibiting religious prayers on mall premises

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Soon after the inauguration of the Lulu Mall in Lucknow Uttar Pradesh on July 10, a video (reportedly from July 12) went viral on social media showing a few people offering namaz in a corner of the shopping mall, while visitors walked around the place. This led to much heartburn among right-wing organisations that called for immediate boycott of the mall, some even demanding bulldozers be brought in!

The Lulu mall, said to be one of the largest retail outlets in northern India, boasts of 300 shops spread over 2.2 million square feet with an 11-storey parking space. It was inaugurated recently by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, and saw huge footfalls as soon as it opened. It is owned by Yussuffali M.A. from Kerala who runs the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Lulu Group, the multinational conglomerate.

But shortly after the video of people offering namaz went viral, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, not to be confused with the Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha reportedly raised an objection and asked all the Hindus to boycott the mall. The group’s national spokesperson Shishir Chaturvedi was quoted by The Telegraph as saying, “We have learnt that namaz was offered in a public area in the mall on Wednesday. If so, we want to recite the Sundar Kand and Hanuman Chalisa in the mall. We have also learnt that 70 per cent of the mall employees are Muslim and 30 per cent are Hindus. The mall is promoting Muslims and Islam.”

He told The Wire, “Lulu Group will earn a lucrative profit from India and send money to Dubai. Did the chief minister check that the mall is constructed as per Lucknow Development Authority’s norms or not? If the mall is not constructed as per rules, where are Baba’s (Yogi) bulldozers?” India Today also quoted him as saying, “People offered namaz sitting on the floor in Lulu Mall, this video proves that government orders were violated in the mall. The government has directed that namaz cannot be offered in public spaces. I will request chief minister Yogi Adityanath to take action on such incidents and ensure that it does not happen again.”

The organisation has filed a First Information Report (FIR) with the Lucknow Police, against “unknown Namazis” under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The mall authorities meanwhile, visited Chaturvedi’s residence and assured him that no further namaz will be permitted inside the mall premises. They have also put up notices in different parts of the mall saying, “No religious prayers will be permitted in the mall.”

However, this did not deter a few people from launching a protest of sorts by attempting to recite Sundarkand on the mall premises on Friday. ADCP South, Lucknow, Rajesh Srivastavatold the Hindustan Times, “Three people were detained from the entry gate of Lulu Mall in Lucknow for allegedly attempting to recite Sundarkand inside the mall premises. Three people of the Hindu Samaj Party were detained at the mall’s gate. Currently, there’s a peaceful situation.”

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