End of the line for controversial Kolkata Imam?

Looking at the controversies kicked up by the Shahi Imam of Tipu Sultan Masjid, Syed Md Nurur Rahman Barkati, the trustee board of the masjid is likely to remove him from the post of Imam on Wednesday.

"He had been appointed after my recommendation to the board and now I have strongly recommended that he be removed. I believe that the board will remove him on Wednesday following a formal announcement of the decision at a press conference, subject to the final decision of the board," Shazada Anwar Ali, the caretaker of the masjid's board of trustees, told DNA on Tuesday.

Asked about the reason for Barkati's removal, he said that the board was not satisfied with the way he was discharging his duties. "There is no political or religious reason. It is a simple case where the employer is not happy with the employee's performance," Ali added.

Sources at the board, however, confirmed that the reasons could be Barkati making frequent anti-national comments, issuing illogical fatwas, and using the masjid complex for conducting press conferences in favour of a particular political party. Barkati was also allegedly a self-proclaimed 'Shahi Imam'. "Neither was Tipu Sultan a Shah nor did Barkati lead the prayers for any king. So he has misused the term 'Shahi Imam'. He had assumed the office of the Imam in 1989. In another instance sometime ago, he had snatched away the keys of certain rooms of the masjid and had also used the masjid to conduct marriages for his own monetary gains," said another senior member of the board.