Lulu Mall Controversy: 3 Hindu Mahasabha Members Detained For Attempting To Recite Sundarkand

A video purportedly showing a group of people offering namaz at Lulu Mall surfaced on social media, leading to a protest by a right-wing Hindu group.

Amid the ongoing controversy over video of people offering namaz inside Lucknow's recently-opened Lulu Mall, Police have detained three people detained from entry gate of mall for allegedly attempting to recite Sundarkand inside the premises. According to reports, three people from Hindu Samaj Party were detained from mall's gate on Friday. 

"3 people of Hindu Samaj Party were detained from mall's gate. Currently, there is peaceful situation," Rajesh Srivastava, ADCP South, Lucknow told reporters. The development comes hours after an FIR was registered against unidentified persons.

The FIR was registered under the relevant section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of Shishir Chaturvedi from Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha. "FIR registered at Sushant Golf City Police Station on a complaint by Lulu Mall management. IPC Sections 153A, 295A, 341 and others are invoked in the FIR," Ajay Pratap Singh, Police Station Incharge, Sushant Golf City, Lucknow said.

Responding to the complaint, Police said that appropriate action will be taken after the investigation.

Earlier this week, a video purportedly showing a group of people offering namaz at Lulu Mall surfaced on social media, leading to a protest by a right-wing Hindu group. The mall was inaugurated by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on July 10.

Members of the group also sought permission from the local authorities to recite the Hanuman Chalisa near the mall on Friday. After the video went viral social media, some members of the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha reached outside the gates of the mall and staged a protest.

Meanwhile, Sameer Verma, general manager the mall in Lucknow, in a video statement said that Lulu Mall respects all religions.

"Lulu Mall respects all religions. Any kind of religious work or prayer is not permitted here. We train our floor staff and security staff to keep an eye on such activities," he said in a video statement.

The complaint lodged by Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha alleged that 70 per cent of the mall staff are men from the Muslim community while the rest 30 per cent are women from Hindu community.