The Uttar Pradesh Police last week arrested 11 persons, including a village pradhan, after Muslims offered Eid namaz on government land in Kushinagar district, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
The namaz was held in Turakha village on June 17, the day of Bakra Eid.
The police on Thursday arrested nine Muslims and two Hindus after a video of the prayers emerged on social media. Among them was Kedar Yadav, the village pradhan.
Yadav’s son, Shiv Kumar, said that the authorities had prohibited any activity on the land in question, which is reportedly the subject of a dispute between Muslims and Hindus.
While a group of Muslims have declared their intention to build an Eidgah – a designated space for namaz – on the land, the Hindu group reportedly wants to build a marriage hall there instead.
“Without our knowledge, a group of people held a prayer on Eid,” Shiv Kumar said, according to The Indian Express. “We found out about it when the video of the prayer went viral the next day. The police arrested my father for not stopping them from offering the prayer.”
The arrested persons have been booked for promoting enmity between religious groups, under section 153A of the Indian Penal Code.
The police also removed the station house officer of Kushinagar’s Khadda police station Neeraj Rai, sub-inspector Om Prakash Yadav and constable Mohan Singh from their posts on charges of negligence.
The policemen have been attached to the Reserved Police Lines, Superintendent of Police Dhawal Jaiswal told The Indian Express.
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