Irfan Pathan

Vadodara, July 26 (PTI): Irfan Pathan’s father, Mohammad Khan Pathan, has lost his job as bangi ? the person who announces the time of namaz ? at the Jumma Masjid here for alleged dereliction of duty.

“Mohammad Khan Pathan had failed in his duty to protect the age-old Quran kept in the mosque and he, along with his family members, left for London without informing anybody,” a trustee of the mosque, Dayma Kumar, said today.

The Quran was damaged when water entered the room during heavy rains in the city in the last week of June, he said. Mohammad Khan was aware of the condition of the room and used to protect the copy of the scripture during rains, Kumar added.

“On his return from London, I questioned him over preservation (of Quran) following which there was a heated argument,” he said.

Irfan’s father then told Kumar he was not interested in doing the work and the trustees decided to discharge him from the duty, the trustee said.

Mohammad Khan and his family used to live in a room on the mosque premises before moving to their new residence at Vasna Road in the city.

Reacting to the trust’s decision, Mohammad Khan said he was very upset because he had been doing his job diligently for several decades.