The Uttar Pradesh Police registered a case against 16 people for offering namaz together in a house in the state's Moradabad district, without taking prior permission from authorities.
Some members of the Hindu community said that two persons, Wahid and Mustakim, had been offering namaz in their homes with several people. However, this was being opposed by some Hindus, who filed a complaint against them.
Taking cognisance of the complaint, the police filed a case against 16 people under Section 505-2 (statement conducing to public mischief in an assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
"Scores of people assembled at the house of two local villagers in Dulhepur village in the Chhajlet area without any notice and offered prayers. They had been cautioned in the past not to indulge in such a practice at home, following objections from neighbours belonging to another community," the Superintendent of Police, Sandeep Kumar Meena, said.
Reacting to the incident, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP Asaduddin Owaisi said that objection to offering namaz at home is injustice.
"Supreme Court has said that 'namaz' can be offered anywhere. Why is there an objection to offering 'namaz' at home? This is injustice," news agency ANI quoted Owaisi as saying.
The case had been filed on the complaint of a local named Chandra Pal Singh.
"They are trying to begin a new tradition by offering mass namaz at home via a maulvi, which we are against. We want peace to be maintained in the village," Singh said.
Meanwhile, the police has begun their investigation and is searching for the accused.
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