Police in Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa district have registered a case against the president of a mosque in Kharkala village for allegedly failing to inform authorities about the stay of an “outsider” inside the mosque premises.
Mohammad Hanif, president of the mosque committee, had temporarily appointed Akhtar Raza, a resident of Bihar, as imam of the mosque to lead prayers. Raza was expected to be made permanent, but before that could happen, the mosque committee president was booked for contempt of a duly promulgated order by a public servant (BNS 223).
The imam, Akhtar Raza, had been temporarily living in a space allocated by the mosque committee. According to district rules, it is mandatory to provide prior information to the police regarding the stay of outsiders.
Speaking to Maktoob, Mohammad Hanif said, “We had appointed Akhtar Raza on a temporary basis and currently he is on probation. We thought of submitting his documents after he was declared permanent by the committee.”
He clarified that Raza is staying in a space allocated by the Masjid Committee and not inside the mosque premises, and that he is also looking for a rented house.
He added, “He is yet to be made permanent, hence we did not submit his documents. Now that we have been summoned by the police, all the documents have been submitted at the police station.”
Hanif further said, “Police have now taken the information about his extended family.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.