Lucknow,

24 Feb (HS): Police detained many persons after tensions erupted on Tuesday at

Lucknow University after ABVP members attempted to disrupt a recent namaz

offering by reciting Hanuman Chalisa near the Laal Baradari mosque on campus. According

to authorities, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists gathered

near the Laal Baradari area and chanted Jai Shri Ram chants while moving in

groups on campus. Visuals

showed cops continually blocking demonstrators from moving forward.

Protesters

subsequently squatted on a road in front of the mosque and began chanting the

Hanuman Chalisa, demanding shuddhikaran (purification) of the

location where namaz was supposedly delivered a few days prior. Police

intervened and detained several of the demonstrators, who were sat inside a

parked bus on campus before being led to police lines.

A

few demonstrators were also violently removed off campus, as shown in videos. A

senior police officer present at the institution stated, We are currently

handling the situation. We will provide an update on the future path later.

Lucknow

University Proctor Rakesh Dwivedi stated, We are talking to students and

will sort this out. When asked about the namaz dispute, he stated,

We have provided everything about the (namaz) controversy to the

police. When asked if this indicated that police were looking to register

a FIR against individuals who gave namaz, he answered, It is up to the

police to do their part. We have clarified our position in writing to the

police on the matter.”

The

protest came a day after members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI)

organized a demonstration alleging the closure of a campus location where

Muslim students had been delivering namaz for years. Aryan Mishra, vice

president of the NSUI's Uttar Pradesh section, stated that the Laal Baradari

mosque inside the campus was sealed on Saturday. Muslims students offered namaz

there on Sunday evening, with NSUI volunteers watching over them, he claimed. Mishra

stated that Muslim students worship in the mosque, whilst Hindu students pray

at a temple near Gate 1.

An

ABVP office-bearer had threatened that if namaz was permitted on the university

grounds, they would also recite the Hanuman Chalisa. Officials claimed there

was a substantial police presence on campus on Tuesday to prevent any

escalation. Visuals showed groups of young people moving into the university

grounds and being halted by security officials at several spots.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi