Rightwing groups submit memo to Gurugram admin, threaten to disrupt Friday prayers - Hindustan Times
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Rightwing groups submit memo to Gurugram admin, threaten to disrupt Friday prayers

Oct 27, 2021 12:14 AM IST

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said that heavy police deployment is planned for Friday. “The prayers will be held under police protection and we will ensure law and order situation is under control”

Members of Sanyukt Hindu Sangarsh Samiti, a consortium of 22 local units of rightwing organisations, gave a memorandum to Gurugram’s deputy commissioner Yash Garg on Tuesday, seeking that the offering of namaz in open areas is stopped. The members said they plan to disrupt prayers on Friday yet again if the issue is not resolved by then.

Representatives of Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti with the memorandum against namaz in open areas submitted to deputy commissioner, Gurugram, Yash Garg. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)
Representatives of Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti with the memorandum against namaz in open areas submitted to deputy commissioner, Gurugram, Yash Garg. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)

Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a Samiti member who has been a part of the protests, said, “This time, if we find anyone offering prayers in the open and not in mosques then we will be forced to disrupt the law and order situation and things can take an ugly turn,” he said.

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Bhardwaj said they had a problem with outsiders gathering in residential areas to offer prayers in the open. Members of the Muslim community, meanwhile, said there weren’t enough mosques in the city, leading to them having to gather in the open at certain sites to pray on Fridays.

Garg said he had received the memorandum and the administration was trying to resolve the issue at the earliest. He said the administration was on high alert. “We are coordinating with the police to ensure that Friday is peaceful. We have deployed duty magistrates at all locations where a protest can take place and we shall ensure that communal harmony is maintained,” he said.

Senior officials said that protesters were likely to gather at multiple sites and police deployment would be planned after discussions with the commissioner of police on Wednesday.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said that heavy police deployment is planned for Friday. “The prayers will be held under police protection and we will ensure law and order situation is under control. Police have been instructed accordingly and an assistant commissioner of police will be deployed to take action at each spot if required. No one will be allowed to raise religious slogans at prayer sites,” he said.

Protests against namaz in open areas started in September in Sector 47. On October 8, the sector residents and members of some Hindu groups protested for the fourth consecutive week by raising slogans and singing bhajans even as members of the Muslim community offered prayers amid heavy police presence. Though police shifted the site of the Friday prayers around 100 metres from the originally designated spot to avoid confrontation, local residents demanded they wanted prayers to be stopped completely in their area.

After a joint meeting of both communities with the deputy commissioner that week, it was decided that residents of Sector 47 would not protest until Diwali (which will be celebrated this year on November 4); however, protesters gathered at Sector 12A last Friday.

Members of the Muslim community said that they were being harassed by the protesters. “Police and the administration should take action against those who are conducting these protests at the sites. Designated land should be given to us so we can set up mosques so that members of our community do not have to offer prayers in open,” said Altaf Ahmad, founder member, Gurgaon Nagrik Ekta Manch.

Haji Shehzad Khan, the chairman of Muslim Ekta Manch, said that they have demanded police protection for people praying at the designated sites. “We have chosen three sites to offer prayers – DLF Phase 3, Sector 12A, and Sector 47. The administration has promised us it will take action against those who protest or disrupt our prayers at any of the sites,” he said.

He also said they are offering prayers at sites designated by the administration but people are still are disrupting them.

The Sanyukt Hindu Sangarsh Samiti had earlier carried out protests against the offering of namaz in the open in May 2018. After their protests, the administration had discussed the issue with both communities and designated 37 sites in the city for offering namaz, one of which is Sector 47.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Leena Dhankhar has worked with Hindustan Times for five years. She has covered crime, traffic and excise. She now reports on civic issues and grievances of residents.

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