Muzaffarnagar (UP): An imam has been arrested for allegedly offering 'namaz' (prayers) on the road outside a mosque here, police said on Sunday. They said an FIR has also been registered against 25 others after a video of them offering the Friday prayers on the road went viral.
"Maulana Naseem, imam of Rehman mosque, has been arrested under IPC section 341 (wrongful restraint)," Additional SP Ayush Vikram Singh said. He said the police is trying to identify the others with the help of the viral video.
Earlier, Lucknow police booked All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Uzma Praveen for offering prayers at Husain Ganj Metro station in the city, officials said. The matter came to light after the AIMIM leader posted a picture offering prayers on her Twitter handle.
DCP, Central Zone, Aparna Rajat Kaushik, said Uzma had falsely shown the place of offering prayers to be Vidhan Bhawan which is misleading. "Just to create hype on social media," the official said.
"A case under charges of IPC 153 A (promoting enmity), IPC 200 (giving false information), and IPC 283 (obstruction of public way) 66 IT act has been registered against Uzma," said the DCP.
