Bijnor (UP): A call for namaz ended up in 14 days of jail time for Mohammad Faizan, a muezzin at a mosque in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district.
The incident occurred in Najibabad at the Najib-ud-Daula Mosque located near a government inter college. It was a Saturday afternoon (October 11) when Faizan recited the Zuhr azaan.
Bijnor Superintendent of Police Krishan Kumar Bishnoi, who was on his way to attend a public grievance redressal programme, heard the azaan and ordered the local police officer to inspect the mosque. The loudspeaker was seized, citing that it exceeded the permissible decibel level.
Mohammed Faizan was arrested, produced before the Sub-Divisional Magistrate’s court and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
The police complaint alleges that the loudspeaker was concealed inside the mosque, and that the loud volume posed a risk to elderly people, children and those who were ill, and that it had caused public resentment.
The incident was condemned by Qazi Afan-ul-Haq, saying the police should have let Faizan go with a warning rather than register a complaint. “Muezzins at mosques are religious persons. The police should have released him after warning him not to repeat the mistake,” he said.
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