Hanuman Chalisa recited inside Lucknow University as row over namaz intensifies

• ABVP protested namaz at Lucknow University, leading to detentions
• Police deployed after tensions rose near Lal Baradari mosque
• 13 students ordered to post bonds for law and order

Did our AI summary help?

Tensions ran high at Lucknow University on Tuesday after a protest by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) against the offering of namaz on the campus escalated, leading to the detention of several students and the deployment of heavy police force.

The protest centred around the Lal Baradari complex, which houses a mosque. ABVP activists assembled near the site, raising “Jai Shri Ram” slogans and demanding the “shuddhikaran” (purification) of the area where namaz was allegedly offered a few days ago.

Visuals from the campus showed groups of youths marching and being repeatedly stopped by security personnel. The protesters later sat on the road in front of the mosque and began reciting the Hanuman Chalisa loudly. Police intervened to control the situation, forcibly removing some protesters from the campus and detaining others, who were seated in a bus and taken to the police lines.

A senior police officer present at the university told PTI that, “As of now, we are handling the situation. We will update you about the future course sometime later.”

The protest comes just a day after members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) staged a demonstration, alleging that the mosque at Lal Baradari, where Muslim students had been offering prayers for years, was locked on Saturday.

Aryan Mishra, vice president of the NSUI’s Uttar Pradesh unit, claimed that Muslim students offered namaz there on Sunday evening with NSUI volunteers guarding them. He noted that while Muslim students pray at the mosque, Hindu students offer prayers at a temple near gate number 1.

An ABVP office-bearer had previously warned that if namaz was permitted on the campus, they would respond by chanting the Hanuman Chalisa.

Meanwhile, thirteen students have reportedly been ordered by an Executive Magistrate to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties of Rs 50,000 each. The order requires them to maintain law and order for one year following reports of unauthorised religious activities at the historic Lal Baradari structure.

According to officials, the action was taken after the students held prayers outside the building because its gates were locked. The order, issued based on a challan report from the Hasanganj police station, states that their actions created a tense situation on the campus and that the possibility of a future disturbance of public peace cannot be ruled out.

Lucknow University Proctor Rakesh Dwivedi said the administration was engaging with students to resolve the matter, according to reports. When asked about the namaz controversy, he clarified that the university had provided all relevant information to the police.

On being questioned whether this meant the police were seeking to register an FIR against those who offered namaz, he added that it was for the police to handle their part of the process, confirming that the university had submitted its position in writing to the authorities.