A video of a group of men offering namaz inside the sleeper coach of Satyagraha Express (train number 15273) has gone viral on social media (SM) on Friday, October 21, 2022. The footage shows Muslims praying in the passageway and blocking the path of onlookers as well.
The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Kushinagar. The video has reportedly been shot by former BJP MLA Deep Lal Bharti. The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has assured to thoroughly investigate the matter.
In the video, passengers are seen seated on both sides even as Islamists offer namaz. Four namazis offer the prayer while another one protects them by asking commuters to wait. The act has inconvenienced several passengers including women. Media reports state that the identities of the namazis have not yet been confirmed.
Deep Lal Bharti, who was travelling on the same train, described the act as exasperating. He said that he was inconvenienced and had to change his coach. He further requested the authorities to take action against those responsible for inconveniencing fellow travellers.
Central Railway Protection Force and the Uttar Pradesh State Railway Police Protection Force have taken cognizance of the matter. The administration has initiated an investigation as the video went viral. “Investigation will be done and then further action will be taken on the matter”, assured Railway SP Awadhesh Singh. The Varanasi zone RPF is gathering information from the public in connection with the incident.
“Recently on October 4, two persons were found offering namaz at the Panchkula Bus Stand. Shlok Aggarwal, a resident of Panchkula, Haryana, shared a tweet on social media where he raised objection against the practice of using government property for religious activities”, notes OpIndia.
Instances of Islamists causing nuisance and inconvenience by offering namaz in public places have become a regular affair. A group of Muslims offered namaz in Bhopal’s DB City Mall in August this year. Similarly in February this year, a viral video showed a group of men performing namaz at Mysuru’s Amba Vilas palace.
In December last year, a video of a public park in Bharuch’s Matariya Talav area showed public space being occupied for offering Islamic prayer. While in one of the videos women are seen performing namaz, in another video a man is seen making the call for Islamic prayer (azaan). The present matter is the latest addition to a long list of such incidents.
(Featured Image Source: India TV news)