Namaz offered on Gurugram ground despite 'disruptions'

Gurugram, Dec 3 (IANS) The row over offering Namaz on Friday on open grounds resurfaced again after more than 200-300 people belonging to the Islamic faith performed offered Friday prayers at a ground here in Sector-37 ground here despite disruption attempts by some Hindu groups.

The members of Hindu groups staged a protest against the Friday prayers.

The Gurugram Police detained around 10 people of Hindu organisations including Dinesh Thakur, the chief of a right-wing group, for trying to disrupt Friday Namaz at Sector-37, an industrial area.

The Bharat Mata Vahini group demanded discontinuation of offering prayers in public parks and spaces.

In view of the tense situation, several police personnel were also deployed at the spot to avoid untoward incidents. They cordoned off the ground to stop Hindu right-wing members to create any ruckus during Friday Namaz.

Many people of the right-wing group had gathered at the ground and raised slogans such as "Jai Shri Ram", "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Vande Mataram".

However, during the prayers, no untoward incident happened and the congregation offered prayers and left the ground peacefully, police said.

Rajender Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), city who was present at the spot, said the police had detained a few members of a group.

"We detained group members who had tried to disrupt Friday Namaz and law and order situation at the spot. They were detained as a precautionary measure and necessary will also be taken against them," he told IANS.

Dinesh Thakur had also submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner Gurugram on Thursday demanding that religious prayers in public spaces be stopped as they were against the rules.

"The district administration has permitted us to offer Friday prayers at the Sector-37 ground. For many years around 2,500 people used to offer Friday Namaz here which has been reduced by 200-300. If any Hindu organisations have any problem they should approach the district administration," Haji Shehzad Khan, chairman, Muslim Ekta Manch, said.

"We are also the citizens of India and want harmony in the city. We are regularly in touch with the concerned authority and ensure that there is no trouble in the city. The administration has already reduced our designated sites from 37 to 20 but few members of Hindu outfits are continuously humiliating us. The administration needs to take strict action against such people," Khan said.

Last Friday, there was tension at Sector-37 ground after a few Hindu groups opposed the Muslims offering religious prayers.