On March 25, several Islamists and their apologists, including Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair, Ashok Swain, and their friendly leftist media outlets such as Scroll and India Today’s The Lallantop, resorted to spreading lies that the Moradabad police, in connivance with members of the Hindu outfit Bajrang Dal, prevented Muslims from praying in a privately owned Moradabad warehouse during Ramzan.
The Moradabad police, however, took to Twitter to fact-check the lies propagated by the assorted bunch of Islamists and the leftist liberals, by confirming that the group of Muslims was indeed allowed to carry out the prayers on Saturday, that too in the presence of police.
In a statement, the Moradabad Police said that they received a complaint about the prayer meeting from residents of the city’s Lajpat Nagar area, which has a “Hindu majority/mixed population”. The meeting was allowed to be held on Saturday in the presence of police, but Muslims of the area have been asked to offer prayers in their homes or religious places, the statement said.
Zakir Hussain, who had organised the prayer meeting in his warehouse, has submitted a written statement to the police station agreeing not to hold any more similar congregations, the police added.
The Moradabad police responded after several Twitter users shared two videos online to propagate their lies. In the first video, Rohan Saxena, state president of the Bajrang Dal, was heard saying that he and fellow members of Bajrang dal had lodged a complaint with the Moradabad police against one Zakir Hussain who assembled 20-30 people for a prayer meeting in his warehouse in Moradabad. In the second video, UP police officials were seen standing outside Zakir Hussain’s purported godown.
Several Islamists and the assorted bunch of liberals used both these videos extensively to push their fake propaganda against the UP police, to which the latter promptly responded.
Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair was amongst the first to propagate the vile campaign against the Moradabad police. He retweeted several posts by like-minded ‘liberals’ like The Wire journalist Kaushik Raj and some Islamists to cast aspersions on UP police.
Zubair didn’t stop at this. He took to Twitter to further attack the UP police after it posted its response on the issue. “Here comes a statement by @moradabadpolice on Tareveeh offered in a godown. During Ramzan, Most Mosques are full, People usually prefer reading Tareveeh at Function halls/Houses/Godowns during Ramzan. This has been the practice. What’s wrong? Why give in to pressure by RW orgs?”
Meer Faisal, a columnist with The Wire, shared the first video and wrote, “In Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, members of the Bajrang Dal have stopped offering Taraweeh prayers at home and complained about it to the police. After this, SSP requested to stop offering Taraweeh namaz in his own house. #Islamophobia #Hindutva”
Repeating the falsehood, AIMIM’s Muzaffarpur’s social media in-charge Mehndi Hasan tweeted in Hindi, “Taraweeh prayers were being offered at Zakir Hussain’s iron godown in Moradabad’s Lajpat Nagar, on the complaint of a Bajrang Dal worker, the police stopped the prayers, neighbors and family members used to offer prayers at Zakir Hussain’s godown. But @Uppolice has objection to offering namaz, shame.”
In the same instance, Millat Times also shared the second video wherein some UP police officials were seen outside Zakir Hussain’s warehouse and tweeted in Hindi, “In Moradabad’s Lajpat Nagar, an iron store owner made arrangements to perform Taraweeh prayers in his warehouse, but the locals protested to the police that the warehouse was being converted into a religious site, after which the police reached the spot and stopped them from offering Taraweeh prayers.
No sooner did the website post the video, a Twitter user going by the handle @shuja_2006, used the video to push false propaganda to portray Muslims as victims. “Indian #Muslim now even can not offer prayer at home during the holy month #Ramadhan Taraweeh prayers were being offered at Zakir Hussain’s iron godown in Moradabad’s Lajpat Nagar, on the complaint of a Bajrang Dal worker, the police stopped the prayers, neighbors and family members used to offer prayers at Zakir Hussain’s godown. But Up police has an objection to offering namaz at home,” the tweet read.
Ashok Swain, the habitual fake news peddlers and leftist propagandist, shared the video and wrote, “Muslims in Moradabad, UP, India, were offering namaz inside their house and the Hindu supremacists with the police stopped the namaz. Where will Muslims pray in India if they can’t do that inside their houses?”
Congress leader Mir Ilyas also chimed in by propagating the same lie that the ‘Hindu supremacists in connivance with the Uttar Pradesh police stopped Muslims from offering namaz inside their house.’
RJD MLA Mohammad Anzar Nayeemi also joined the bandwagon. “@Uppolice don’t act against the principles and philosophies of the Constitution. Your action in Moradabad will have a far reaching effect. Stop this indiscriminate humiliation of muslims. Take action against the miscreants, don’t side with them. @moradabadpolice#Namaz#Taraweeh,” he wrote.
Another troll who goes by the name Anjali Mody also shared the videos posted by ‘journalist’ @WasimAkramTyagi to spread similar propaganda. “Man in the video identifies as a member of the Bajrang Dal, youth wing of the #VHP, a #Modi-BJP-RSS linked org, branches in the UK&US. Aided by Moradabad police, he has stopped #Ramzan prayers being said inside the privately owned warehouse of a Muslim resident. #India@g20org,” she tweeted.
Leftist-friendly media houses like India Today’s The Lallantop and Scroll also joined in to claim that the Moradabad police acted against the Muslims and stopped them from offering Namaz at their house, based on complaints filed by the Hindu organisation.
Vernacular media houses like Dainik Bhaskar also made similar assertions that the UP police in connivance with the Bajrang Dal members stopped Muslims from offering prayers.
The Moradabad police, nevertheless, responded to almost every such vile tweet to clarify that the prayer meeting was, indeed, allowed to be held on Saturday in the presence of police. Muslims of the area have, however, been asked to refrain from holding such public prayer meets and to offer prayers in their homes or designated religious places in the future.