Meerut police prohibit Eid prayers on streets, Jayant Chaudhary decries transfer
The Meerut police administration’s stern directive prohibiting the providing of Eid-ul-Fitr prayers on public streets has ignited a political controversy within the state. The order, geared toward sustaining regulation and order throughout the upcoming pageant, has drawn sharp criticism from Union minister and NDA ally Jayant Chaudhary, who likened the transfer to the oppressive surveillance and management depicted in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984.
Meerut SP Metropolis Ayush Vikram Singh introduced that strict motion might be taken in opposition to violators, together with the registration of FIRs, arrests, and even the cancellation of passports and licences.
“Final time, circumstances had been registered in opposition to 200 individuals for providing prayers on the streets. This 12 months, too, anybody discovered praying on roads will face authorized penalties,” Singh acknowledged.
He emphasised that prayers should be confined to designated places resembling mosques and Faiz-e-Aam Inter Faculty, significantly close to the Idgah, to make sure public roads stay unobstructed.
The police have rolled out an intensive safety plan, deploying drones, video surveillance, and forces just like the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and Speedy Motion Pressure (RAF) to observe key areas.
SSP Vipin Tada strengthened the federal government’s stance, declaring that no spiritual actions might be permitted in public areas with out prior authorisation. “That is about sustaining order,” Tada stated, instructing police station in-charges to implement the directive rigorously.
Nonetheless, the measures have sparked debate.
Jayant Chaudhary took to X and posted: “Policing in direction of Orwellian 1984!” The comparability evokes Orwell’s imaginative and prescient of a totalitarian state the place particular person freedoms are crushed underneath the burden of unrelenting authority—a pointed critique of what Chaudhary sees as overreach by the Meerut police.
Members of the Muslim neighborhood have argued that the restrictions seem to disproportionately goal their spiritual practices.
“If there are guidelines, they need to apply to everybody, not simply Muslims,” one neighborhood member remarked, highlighting a perceived bias within the enforcement.
The police have doubled down on their place, asserting in peace committee conferences that violators may lose their means to journey overseas, together with to holy websites like Mecca and Medina, as passport cancellations might be pursued alongside FIRs.
Authorities are additionally revisiting circumstances from earlier years, vowing to trace down and arrest people recognized in previous incidents of avenue prayers, the SP Metropolis confirmed.
No prayers on rooftops: Sambhal police
On the peace committee assembly held on Wednesday at Kotwali police, ASP Shrish Chandra clearly acknowledged that the Alvida Juma and Eid prayers needs to be supplied solely in mosques and Eidgahs as per custom.
“If anybody presents prayers on the streets or a gathering on the rooftops of homes close to mosques, motion might be taken in opposition to them,” he stated.
The police administration is sustaining vigil relating to Alvida Juma and Eid. SP Sambhal Krishan Kumar Bishnoi emphasised that regulation and order should not be disrupted underneath any circumstances and that upcoming festivals needs to be celebrated peacefully. He additionally pressured that no new traditions needs to be launched.
“Ample safety preparations have been made for Alvida Juma and Eid prayers. In addition to police patrolling, drone cameras might be used for surveillance in numerous localities. Providing prayers on roads and public locations or a gathering on roof tops should not allowed. Authorized motion might be taken in these circumstances,” he stated.
