Lucknow, October 13: The Uttar Pradesh police arrested a man for causing a traffic jam by offering namaz outside secretariat office where Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was holding a meeting. A video is going viral in which the man, identified as Rafique Ahmad, is seen performing namaz on a busy road outside the secretariat office.
Rafique, wearing kurta and green turban, parked his scooter and started performing namaz on a busy road. This disrupted vehicular movement outside the secretariat office. After performing namaz, Rafique left the spot on his scooter. After the video went viral, Lucknow’s Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani ordered the registration of an FIR against him.
Rafique was tracked and subsequently arrested. “He was tracked and arrested for creating a nuisance and blocking a road. Further investigations are on,” Hindustan Times quoted Naithani. Cops present outside the secretariat office reportedly said they didn't act immediately against Rafique because he was performing a religious activity.
The police didn't stop Rafique when he was performing namaz because of apprehensions that this may be given a communal angle and lead to violence.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 13, 2018 11:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).