After namaz video, LuLu Mall Lucknow management denies Muslim bias, says 80% staff Hindus

Mall management says employees are hired on the basis of 'skills and talent and not on religion'

Days after a video purportedly showing a group of people offering namaz at its recently-inaugurated mall in Lucknow surfaced online stoking a communal controversy on employment policy bias, Lucknow's LuLu Mall administration has denied the allegations. The mall administration said the people seen in the video are not staff members and it is a completely professional establishment that conducts business without any discrimination, according to a statement by the management on ANI.

The mall is owned by LuLu Group International, the parent company of the mall, and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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In a statement, the company said it is "saddening that some selfish elements are trying to target our establishment", adding that it has filed an FIR in the matter. The mall administration even highlighted that 80 per cent of its employees are Hindus. “We hire employees on the basis of skills and talent and not on religion basis. We have filed an FIR against those who tried to organise prayers in the public area,” the administration said.

Meanwhile, police arrested two persons for attempt to recite Hanuman Chalisa on the mall premises on Saturday. Besides, 15 others were detained for creating a ruckus while trying to enter the shopping mall. This comes after police lodged an FIR under against a group of unidentified people who allegedly offered namaz at the mall, according to the report.