Hindu outfit threatens to recite Hanuman Chalisa after namaz at Lucknow mall

A Hindu outfit on Thursday threatened to recite Hanuman Chalisa inside a mall in the city after videos showing some people offering namaz there went viral on social networking sites.

Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha, which lodged a complaint with the police seeking action against those who had allegedly offered prayers inside the mall, said that its activists would recite Haunman Chalisa in the mall if the cops failed to act.

In a statement issued in this regard, the organisation also asked the Hindu community to boycott the mall.

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Prominent Ayodhya based Hindu seer Raju Das, who was the Mahant of the famous Hanumangarhi temple in Ayodhya, also said that he and his disciples would recite 'Hanuman Chalisa' inside the mall, which was said to be the largest in the Northern India. "We will recite Hanuman Chalisa if the police do not take stern action against the people offering namaz," the mahant said.

The Mahant also complained to the cops that the owner of the mall, which was owned by a Gulf-based company, had given preference to the Muslims while recruiting staff. "More than 80 per cent of the staff in the mall was Muslims....it is unacceptable as many Hindu girls also work there," he alleged.

The statement added that the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has banned namaz or other religious activities in public places. Despite this, people offered namaz in the Lulu Mall.

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An office bearer of the Mahasabha Shishir Chaturvedi said on Thursday that the government must not allow the mall to be used as a mosque. "The mall should remain a shopping complex and not a mosque," he added.

The mall management said that a probe had been ordered into the incident (offering of namaz). "We are probing the matter...we are trying to ascertain if those offering namaz were employees or outsiders," a spokesman of the management said here.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had inaugurated the mall on July 10.