No prayers were offered at the Sector 58 park of the Noida Authority where water was being sprinkled since Friday morning and multiple teams were deployed to maintain law and order.

‘Routine affair’

While workers from the Muslim community pointed out that water was sprinkled here last Friday (on December 21) as well, Noida Authority staffers said it was a routine affair, adding water is sprinkled several times every week at the park.

Meanwhile, some members of the Muslim community offered prayers at Noida Authority parks in Sector 63 on Friday.

While the authorities denied that there was any special arrangement to avoid any congregation, the Muslim workers offered namaz at a masjid in Labour Chowk. Many employees could be seen having lunch in the park in the afternoon.

“We were not allowed to hold prayers in Sector 58 but many of us prayed in Sector 64. We do not want to create an issue but just need a place to pray,” said Abdul, who works at a factory in Noida.

A notice was issued by the Sector 58 police station SHO after large gatherings were held at the local park in Sector 58.

Local SHO Pankaj Rai told the media that a notice was issued to 23 companies as over the past few weeks around 500 people would gather on Fridays to offer namaz, up from 15-20 people earlier.

The police said the notice was issued to maintain law and order after some residents of Bishanpura village objected to the congregation, adding that on December 16, around 500 people, including many outsiders, had gathered there.

After the order was largely criticised, the district administration and the police announced that private companies would not be held liable for Friday prayers by employees at public places.

However, the DM reiterated that permission for such gatherings from the local authority is mandatory, citing a 2009 Supreme Court order.

Terming news reports on the order issued by a local police station “out of context”, the DM said the local administration had not given permission to the Sector 58 park for religious gatherings and that the SHO had issued a letter in his own capacity.

Religious clerics and organisations have slammed the Noida police over the “diktat” of holding private companies responsible for Friday prayers.

Delhi Minority Commission chairperson Zafarul Islam Khan said that this was illegal and the notice should be revoked. He said that he would write an advisory to the UP government over the issue.

All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, a federation of various Muslim bodies, also termed the SHO’s order illegal and unjust.

Political outfits like the SP and the BSP also slammed the order.

Having dealt with the crowd confrontation earlier as well, the Sector 58 SHO is not new to handling clash between groups.

Back in 2007, when he was posted in Agra, he had to deal with riots, which broke out after four men were hit by a lorry while returning from Shab-e-Barat.

Mr. Rai said that he would stand by the order he issued, adding that his effort was only to help maintain peace in the area. Asked whether he feels the order could have been worded better, Mr. Rai said he would have acted in a similar manner had it been a Hindu congregation.