Police sources told NDTV about six people have been detained.
Gurgaon:
A group of right-wing activists and locals today again prevented Muslims from offering namaz at a designated open site in Gurgaon despite a heavy police presence. About six people were detained and five of them were released after questioning, police sources told NDTV.
Video from the namaz site in Sector 37 showed protesters shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ from a height of less than 30 meters as a small group of Muslims prayed Friday.
Although the namaz site is close to the police station, the arrangement of security on the ground does not seem appropriate. Police officials, apparently outnumbered, were seen creating a human chain to prevent protesters from disrupting namaz, video from the ground showed.
In another video, a protester was seen stopping a Muslim man from walking towards the namaz site. He was later taken away by police officials present in the area.
According to reports, about 15 Muslims gathered at the ground today to find namaz. They were seen praying on Friday amid shouts of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Vande Matram’.
Earlier in the day, locals parked their trucks on the ground and claimed they had no place to park them elsewhere.
The site at Sector 37 is one of 29 sites set aside for namaz following an agreement between Hindus and Muslims following similar clashes in 2018.
When the protests first caused a stir, Haryana Chief ML Khattar said everyone has the right to pray, but he also issued a warning, saying “those offering prayers must not be hindered. road traffic”.
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