In Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against 100-200 individuals for allegedly offering Eid Namaz on the road. The FIR was filed based on a complaint lodged by a sub-inspector posted at Railway Road Police Station in the city, Yogesh Kumar. The FIR has been filed under sections 143 (Unlawful Assembly), 186 (Obstructing Public Servant), 188 (Disobedience), 283 (Danger or Obstruction in Public Way), 341 (Wrongful Restraint) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Yogesh Kumar stated in his complaint, “I was assigned the duty of UP Ramautar Singh at Shahi Eidgah to ensure the safe completion of the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr. I was present there when Eid-ul-Fitr namaz was offered at Shahi Eidgah by the people of the Muslim community. Before offering namaz, some unknown persons sat on the roadside to offer namaz, whom I did not know. It was removed peacefully by the SI, crime inspector, inspector in-charge and higher officials, but as soon as the namaz started at around 07.45 in the morning, some unknown persons (namazis) in numbers of about 100-200 came out on the road and they sat on the roadside and offered Eid-ul-Fitr prayers on the road and on the side of the road, while District Magistrate, Meerut, imposed Model Code of Conduct Section 144 CrPC for the safe conduct of the Lok Sabha elections.”
The complaint alleges that despite being instructed by the police and the imposition of Model Code of Conduct Section 144 CrPC by the District Magistrate, the individuals proceeded to offer namaz on the road, blocking traffic.
