Four individuals were arrested at Jam Samant village in Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly offering namaz in an unauthorised makeshift mosque. The arrest followed the release of a video by the Hindu Jagran Manch, showed a group of people performing namaz inside a private property, triggering accusations of religious misconduct and unlawful construction of a place of worship.
The arrested suspects, including Mohammad Shahid, the brother of the village pradhan Mohammad Arif, were charged with “breach of peace” after being caught offering namaz in a tin-shed structure on private land.
The police action came after Himanshu Patel, the district president of the Hindu Jagran Manch’s youth wing, posted the video online, which showed the group offering namaz in the makeshift structure. Patel, who had been alerted by an associate who recorded the footage, shared it with local authorities and the district administration, urging them to take action. Patel’s social media post quickly went viral, drawing harsh criticism from various quarters of the Hindu community, accusing the Muslim residents of illegally constructing a mosque in a predominantly Muslim village.
“There is neither a mosque nor a temple in this village. To offer prayers, residents have to travel to nearby villages. When I saw this, I immediately uploaded the video and informed the authorities about the situation,” Patel explained.
According to the police, the individuals involved had set up a makeshift prayer space inside a 200-yard walled area, which was covered with a tin shed, on land owned by the village pradhan’s family. The structure was used to offer namaz without the necessary permissions from the local administration. Sub-Inspector Ahmed Ali, who conducted the police inquiry, confirmed that the site was not a mosque but a private residence being used for religious purposes without proper authorisation.
“After reviewing the video and conducting the investigation, we found that a group of people from the Muslim community had gathered inside the walled area to offer namaz. However, there was no formal permission sought from the authorities for this, and the site was not a mosque,” Ali clarified, downplaying the claims that it was a place of worship.
The arrest of Mohammad Shahid and three others—including the village pradhan’s brother—was made under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with disobedience to orders duly promulgated by a public servant. However, as the investigation progressed, the charges were upgraded to “breach of peace,” following concerns from the Hindu community about the unauthorised religious activity.
In an attempt to address rising communal tensions, police confirmed that the landowner, Sagir Ahmed, had constructed the four-walled structure to house the prayer gathering. This further raised alarm among residents of the village who felt that the construction was an illegal encroachment. “This was my family’s land. To see it turned into a prayer space without any legal clearance is both disturbing and disrespectful to the broader community,” said one local resident, requesting anonymity.”
A case was filed under section 170 of the Indian Code of Justice.
