Lucknow: Days after chaos ensued in Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow over the offering of namaz in Lulu Mall of the city, activists belonging to groups such as Karni Sena, Hindu Mahasabha and Rashtriya Hindu Sanrakshak Dal (RHSD) on Saturday, approached the mall and tried to offer prayers on mall premises, but were stopped by the police.
RHSD leader Aditya Mishra headed the attempt and was subsequently detained by cops alongside 14 others. This comes after Hindu Mahasabha on Friday protested against the offering of Namaz inside mall premises. Notably, Mahasabha President Shishir Chaturvedi had announced that he would recite Sundarkand, a sacred Hindu text, inside the premises at 6 pm on Friday. He was later put under house arrest.
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"Lulu Mall respects all religions. Any kind of religious work or prayer is not permitted here. We train our floor staff and security staff to keep an eye on such activities," Sameer Verma, General Manager of the mall, said in a statement. The mall belonging to Lulu Group, founded by Indian-origin UAE billionaire Yussuf Ali M A, was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on July 10. On July 13, a clip displaying a group of people offering namaz inside mall premises had gone viral, leading to protests.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a video of two youth chanting the Hanuman Chalisa inside mall premises went viral on social media. The two were seen performing the prayer and chanting slogans while sitting right beneath a sign forbidding any religious prayers inside the mall.
