Police detained several people on Tuesday after tensions escalated at Lucknow University when ABVP members attempted to confront the recent offering of namaz by reciting the Hanuman Chalisa near the Laal Baradari mosque on campus.
According to officials, activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) gathered near the Laal Baradari area, raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" as they moved in groups within the university premises. Visuals showed police repeatedly preventing the protesters from advancing further.
The protesters later staged a sit-in on the road in front of the mosque and began reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, demanding "shuddhikaran" (purification) of the spot where namaz was allegedly offered a few days ago.
Police intervened and detained some of the demonstrators. Those taken into custody were seated inside a bus parked on campus before being transported to police lines. Videos also showed a few protesters being forcibly removed from the university premises.
A senior police officer present at the university said, "As of now, we are handling the situation. We will update you about the future course sometime later."
Lucknow University Proctor Rakesh Dwivedi said, "We are talking to students and will sort this out." On being asked about the namaz controversy, he said, "We have provided everything about the (namaz) controversy to the police."
On being asked whether this meant that police were seeking registration of an FIR against those who offered namaz, he said, "It is for the police to do their part. We have cleared our position in writing to the police on the subject."
The protest comes a day after members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) staged a demonstration, alleging that a place inside the university where Muslim students had been offering namaz for years was closed.
NSUI’s Uttar Pradesh unit vice president Aryan Mishra had claimed that the Laal Baradari mosque inside the university was locked on Saturday. Muslims students offered namaz there on Sunday evening with NSUI volunteers guarding them, he said.
Mishra said that Muslims students pray at the mosque while Hindu students offer prayers at a temple near gate number 1.
Earlier, an ABVP office-bearer had warned that if namaz was permitted inside the university campus, they too would chant the Hanuman Chalisa there.
Police maintained a heavy presence across the campus on Tuesday to prevent any further escalation, officials said. Visuals showed groups of youths marching through the university premises and being stopped by security personnel at multiple points.
