LUCKNOW: Lulu Mall is back in news over the namaz row as another attempt was made to kick up controversy and breach the peace on Mall premises in Lucknow. A video showing a burqa-clad woman offering namaz by escaping the vigil of security guards went viral on social media on Monday night.
Taking note of the video on social media, the station house officer Inspector Shailendra Giri from the local Sushant Golf City police station reached the mall and started the investigation by scanning the CCTV footage of the mall.
As per the mall sources, the video allegedly shows a burqa-clad woman, surrounded by a group of women and children, offering namaz by sitting on the floor of the mall.
Inspector Giri confirmed that a video had gone viral on Monday night but its veracity was yet to be confirmed. He said even the date and time of the video were not confirmed but the probe was on. The cop said that even the mall administration did not inform the local police station about the incident.
Built at a cost of Rs 2,000 crore, Lulu Mall opened to the public on July 11, a day after its inauguration by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. A day after the mall opened, a video of a group of unidentified persons offering namaz inside the premises went viral.
After an inquiry, Lulu Mall’s Public Relations Manager Sibtain Hussain lodged a case against unidentified persons at the Sushant Golf City police station on July 14. The accused were booked under IPC sections 153-A (1) (promoting enmity between groups), 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 341 (wrongful restraint), and 505 (statements leading to public mischief).
The incident was followed by huge protests with right-wing activists for days and later the Lucknow police arrested all those who were seen in the video committing the mischief.