A Mathura court on Tuesday sent Khudai Khidmatgar (Servants of God)convener Faizal Khan in 14-day judicial custody after the police arrested him for allegedly offering namaz in Nand Baba temple in Barsana area of the city on October 29. In a medical examination, Mr. Khan was found COVID-19 positive and has been sent to institutional quarantine, said lawyer Suyash Tripathi, who is also a member of Khudai Khidmatgar, the NGO that works for communal amity in society.
Mr. Khan was arrested from Okhla area of Delhi on Monday and handed over to the Uttar Pradesh police at the Jamia Nagar police station after an FIR was registered against four persons under sections 153A, 295 and 505 of the IPC on a complaint from priest Krishna Goswami alias Kanha.
The FIR said Mr. Khan, along with Chand Mohammad, Alok Ratna and Nilesh Gupta, members of the Delhi-based Khudai Khidmatgar, entered the temple premises on October 29 at 12.30 p.m.
“Faizal Khan and Chand Mohammad offered namaz within the temple premises without the permission of the priests and hurt the sentiments of the Hindus. Their associates clicked their photos and made them viral on social media. They might be receiving foreign funding and it might be an attempt to create communal tension in the region,” said Mr. Kanha in the FIR.
Priest’s version
However, a video shared by a priest, Shubham Goswami, on his social media shows Mr. Khan telling Mr. Kanha and others that they undertook the Kosi Yatra in the Brij region on cycles. “We are here for generating goodwill. There is everything in the world, what is missing is love and in the Brij region I have felt copious amounts of love… Krishna belongs to all, his love belongs to the mankind... If after going to the mosque, I am becoming narrow-minded, there is no use of it,” he could be heard saying in the video. Mr. Goswami has thanked Mr. Kanha at the end of the post.
Pavan Yadav, spokesperson of the NGO, claimed that Mr. Khan was allowed to offer prayers by the priests. “As it was time for Zuhr namaz, the priest said Muslim visitors could offer prayers in the premises,” he said, adding there was no intention to hurt sentiments but if still somebody’s feelings had been hurt, they apologise for it.
Mr. Khan is the national convener of Khudai Khidmatgar, which was founded by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Mr. Khan revived it to spread communal harmony.
The five-day yatra was part of the exercise. “Last year, he undertook a yatra from Delhi to Kolkata and offered prayers in several temples along the way. He is well versed with the Hindu religion and is familiar with many priests,” said Mr. Tripathi. “When Mr Khan posted the images on October 29, why it took the priests three days to take offence. It seems like an afterthought,” he said.
Dr. Kush Kumar Singh who shares the residence with Mr. Khan as a “social experiment” said Mr. Khan had a deep understanding of the Hindu religion and it had been widely acknowledged. “I am a Hindu living in a Muslim dominated area but we celebrate Janamasthmi with great fervour. The NGO has professionals from different communities and we work towards removing the cobwebs from people’s minds,” said Dr. Singh from Mathura.
Mr. Kanha said he stopped Mr. Khan because of the skull cap. “When he shared his thoughts, we were impressed with his deep understanding of Krishna and Hindu texts. That’s why I recorded the conversation. I gave him the prasad and offered him to have lunch with us. But they refused and said they were in a hurry. There was no discussion on offering namaz in the temple premises. Later, the guard told us that they were offering namaz, and when he stopped them, they left. We have no personal animosity against him as thousands of people of different faiths come to Krishna’s abode every day. We just want to find out their real motive.”
Meanwhile, four persons were arrested on Tuesday by the Mathura police for reciting Hanuman Chalisa in an Eidgah on Barsana road in the district. Gaurav Grover, SSP, Mathura, said nobody would be allowed to disrupt peace in the district.
