Moradabad: Condemnation erupted in Uttar Pradesh after police registered a First Information Report against Samajwadi Party district vice-president Haji Mohammad Usman for offering namaz near the lawn of the government-run Circuit House in Moradabad. The incident has drawn sharp criticism from Congress MP Pawan Khera, who described the FIR as an act of religious targeting.
The incident took place on September 3, after a review meeting of SP leaders at the Circuit House. Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council Leader of Opposition Lal Bihari Yadav was staying at the facility under official protocol and had convened the meeting with local SP leaders. After the meeting concluded, Usman stepped outside and offered prayers near the lawn beside a parked car.
A video of the prayers, reportedly recorded by an SP worker, circulated widely on social media the following day. The footage triggered a debate, with some users framing it as a legitimate expression of individual religious faith, while others questioned the offering of prayers on government premises.
Police registered a case against Usman under two sections of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita: Section 285, relating to danger or obstruction in a public way or line of navigation, and Section 292, relating to punishment for public nuisance.
Congress MP Pawan Khera reacted sharply to the FIR. He argued that Usman was being targeted solely because of his Muslim identity. Referring to Usman’s full name, his party position, and his family connection to Bilari MLA Mohammad Faheem Irfan, Khera wrote on X: “He happens to be Haji Mohammad Usman, Samajwadi Party district vice-president, and the uncle of Bilari MLA Mohammad Faheem Irfan, a Muslim. What a disgrace!”
Khera went further, writing that an FIR was registered against what he described as a demonstrably harmless old man peacefully prostrating before his God. His remarks drew thousands of responses on the platform.
Civil liberties advocates and Muslim groups have raised concerns about the growing pattern of legal action against Muslims for practising their faith in public or semi-public spaces. The Moradabad case adds to a series of incidents across Uttar Pradesh where the act of offering namaz has drawn police complaints and, in several instances, formal charges.
