A resting room for railway porters at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station (Bengaluru Central), which was locked and repainted on Tuesday, 1 February, after it was mired in controversy, has now been reopened. However, it is no longer green in colour and has a photo of all gods.
The room was locked, a day after Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) barged into it opposing a section of the room being used to offer namaz by Muslim porters.
Goa-based HJS, who is reportedly linked to the accused in the Gauri Lankesh murder case, had written to the Indian Railways on Monday, 31 January, regarding the 'prayer hall' and called it a "threat to national security."
Resting room at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station (Bengaluru Central)
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
Resting room at Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (KSR) Railway Station (Bengaluru Central)
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
The group had threatened to stage "severe" protests if the authorities did not stop Muslims from using the room for prayers.
On Tuesday, the South Western Railways (SWR) repainted the walls of the room and also deployed personnel of the Railway Police Force (RPF) after locking it.
Notably, the railway station has at least two temples, including one on Platform 7 and another near the locomotive shed, as well as a small room where Christians offer prayers.
Hindu place of worship at the same KSR Railway Station in Majestic, Bengaluru.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
A senior railway official was quoted by Deccan Herald as saying, "Prayers have been offered there for at least 30 years. Similarly, pooja has been performed at the temples for decades. Vested interests are trying to create a controversy."
The Hindu group's Karnataka spokesperson Mohan Gowda said that he was not aware of the temples located on the railway premises.
In his letter sent to the station manager, Gowda said:
"This is a very serious issue and a threat from the national security standpoint of view. Bengaluru KSR Railway Station is an important station in the state. Even though there are many masjids around the railway station, giving permission to perform prayers on the platform seems to be a conspiracy."
The letter added, "In 2019, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had arrested a terrorist, Mohammed Akram, from the Majestic Area (where the railway station is located) in Bengaluru. The police had arrested a Bangladesh-based terrorist, member of Jemaat-ul- Mujahideen, who was hiding in the Cottonpet Masjid in Bengaluru."
Somehow linking the arrests to the offering of prayers, the letter added, "Keeping this background, how appropriate is it to allow prayers on the platform? It is requested to take immediate action against those who have permitted the unauthorised place."
Meanwhile, a porter, who has been working at the railway station for 23 years, said, "We are about 280 porters from all faiths and our religion has never been an issue. There is a temple on platform 8 and there is a church in the railway colony and half of the restroom was used to perform namaz. The other half is used to rest by all. Neither Muslims nor Hindus have any problem with it. It has been prevailing for the last 40-50 years and it was never an issue. We do not know why they brought religion here," The Indian Express reported.
(With inputs from Deccan Herald, The Indian Express, and Hindustan Times.)
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