In Bareilly village where HC allowed ‘prayers at pvt house’, a 2km walk for namaz

BAREILLY: Despite Allahabad HC issuing a contempt notice to Bareilly's district magistrate and senior superintendent of police over the alleged stopping of prayers inside a private house in Mohammadganj, namaz is not being offered in any home in the village. Muslim residents are walking nearly 2km to pray.

The court restrained the administration from taking coercive action until the next hearing on March 11, and residents said visible police harassment had stopped after the order. However, prayers inside private houses have not resumed and police personnel remain deployed in the hamlet of around 1,000 residents.

"We did get relief because the police are not harassing us now," petitioner and farmer Tarik Khan told TOI. "But even after the contempt notice, the fact is that prayers haven't commenced." He said that after the court's intervention they briefly resumed prayers, but protests followed and police again asked them not to continue. "We are back to square one. Ramzan has started and we have to offer prayers several times a day...but we have no option."

Additional SP Anshika Verma said, "There has been no coercion, nor will there be any in the future. Unfortunately, some residents are treating a notice as if it were a final verdict. The matter is currently sub judice, with the next hearing scheduled for March 11. Maintaining law and order remains our top priority. "

Verma added: "We acted upon receiving information that a house was allegedly being converted into a place of worship, which requires prior administrative permission under existing rules. Following HCs contempt notice on Feb 12, we received reports that prayers had resumed at the same premises. This led to tensions, with another section of the community staging protests. To prevent escalation, we intervened promptly and facilitated dialogue between both sides, ensuring that the status quo is maintained."

An elderly Muslim man who requested that he not be named said, "Of course, the HC order which said no coercive action should take place till the next hearing has made us happy, but the truth is that on the ground nothing much has changed. You can see for yourself that no prayers are being offered."

Tarik said some Hindu neighbours put up ‘house for sale' posters after prayers resumed briefly. "That added more pressure on us. We want to live in peace more than anything else," he said.

Several houses linked to the 12 men who were detained on Jan 16 for offering prayers at a vacant house remain locked. A woman who did not wish to be named said her relatives Nasir, Anas and Kapeel Khan were among those detained for offering prayers in the empty house of a widow, Reshma Khan, despite her permission. "They were let off after a brief detention, but for 10 days they had to visit the police station daily. Their names are now in police records. If anything happens in the village, they fear they will be picked up," she said, adding that some of the 12 had "left for work in other states" and no one was willing to say where they had gone or when they would return.

The dispute traces back to mid-Dec when bricks were brought to land owned by Tarik for construction of a dwelling that he said was meant to be a personal cattleshed. Rumours spread that a mosque was being built, and men claiming to be Bajrang Dal members reached the village, leading to tension and police intervention on Dec 24. On Jan 1, Tarik submitted an affidavit stating that the structure would not be used for any religious activity.

Residents said the Jan 27 order of Allahabad HC in a separate matter concerning members of the Christian community — which stated that prayers could be offered within private property — prompted them to approach the court, arguing that their situation was similar. It was then that the HC restrained the administration from taking coercive steps until March 11.

Kamal Kishore, a Hindu resident, said, "Police are not taking strict action against the violators. Which law permits the conversion of a house into a mosque or a madrasa? We have been demanding demolition of the house where prayers are offered but police do not pay heed to our demand."