Namaz in park: Noida police downplays notice

Facing backlash for allegedly making Noida-based companies culpable in case their employees offer Friday prayers at the Sector -58 parks, Noida Police on Wednesday sought to downplay the fears and asked the companies not to panic. Police officials said the notice was meant to ask business firms to spread awareness among their employees to not use public land for any religious activity. Denying reports that the order has been retracted, police clarified that the order was only meant to insulate public land from any religious activity that has the potential to conflagrate into a communal tension. They also said the order was not to target any particular religion.

Since the copy of the notice went viral on social media, it created panic among companies and industrial units based in Noida.

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi took to twitter and said, "UP Cops literally showered petals for Kanwariyas, but namaz once a week can mean disrupting peace & harmony. This is telling Muslims: aap kuch bhi karlo, ghalti to aapki hi hogi." He also questioned holding company owners responsible for the behaviour of their employees outside their office premises. "Also, by law, how does one hold an MNC liable for what their employees do in an individual capacity," he asked.

The Noida Police further said that the notice was issued after receiving a host of complaints from the residents of Bishanpura village. They had objected to the park being used as a place of offering Friday prayers by not just employees of the nearby factories but also other people. "Since the notice was issued with regard to the Friday prayers, that was specifically mentioned. But it did say any religious activity and we are not going to allow any park being used for any form of religious activity without prior permission," said a police officer. The companies should make their employees aware of the notice and what we had asked them, the cop added.

A Hindu religious event scheduled to be held on a government land in Greater Noida was stopped Wednesday after authorities found it lacked requisite permission, officials said, days after the police asked some private firms here to stop their Muslim employees from offering namaaz at a public park.