UP Police Book Samajwadi Party Leader Over Circuit House Namaz; Congress Hits Out

A controversy has erupted in Moradabad after a video showing Samajwadi Party (SP) district vice-president Haji Mohammad Usman offering prayers near the government-run Circuit House surfaced on social media, prompting objections from a Hindu organization and eventually leading to the registration of a police case against him. The video, reportedly recorded on Thursday, September 3, shows Usman offering namaz beside a parked car near the lawn of the Circuit House, and began circulating widely online the following day.

Usman, who is the uncle of Bilari MLA Mohammad Faheem Irfan, had reportedly gone to the Circuit House to meet with the Leader of the Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Lal Bihari Yadav, who was staying at the facility at the time. According to officials, the district administration had received protocol arrangements for Yadav's stay and had made corresponding arrangements at the Circuit House, though it remains unclear whether Usman had been granted specific permission to offer prayers on the premises.

Following objections raised by the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, a Hindu organization, police registered a first information report against Usman under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to causing danger or obstruction in a public way and public nuisance. The organization's state president questioned how the prayer had been allowed to take place at a government facility, asking the administration to clarify whether any specific rule permitted a political leader or a legislator's relative to offer prayers at the Circuit House, and calling for action if no such permission had been granted. Moradabad's Additional District Magistrate said an investigation into the matter was underway and that further action would follow based on its findings.

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The FIR has drawn criticism from opposition leaders, with Congress spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Pawan Khera among those questioning the basis for the case. Khera, in a sarcastic post on social media, suggested it was unclear what obstruction could plausibly have resulted from an elderly man peacefully offering prayers beside a parked vehicle, implying the FIR appeared disproportionate to the nature of the act itself. His remarks reflected a broader wave of online criticism describing the police action as excessive or unwarranted, given that the video reportedly does not show any individuals being obstructed by the prayer, with the vehicles visible in the frame appearing to be stationary.

The episode has since sparked wider debate on social media, with some users framing the incident as a personal exercise of religious faith that caused no discernible disruption, while others have raised broader questions about the appropriateness of religious activities being conducted on government premises. As the investigation continues, the case has added to an ongoing public conversation in Uttar Pradesh regarding the use of official government spaces for religious observance, with reactions continuing to divide sharply along political and ideological lines.

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