Imam in UP’s Shamli booked for playing mosque loudspeaker ‘beyond permissible limit’

Sub-Inspector Sonu Chaudhary, on whose complaint the police booked Maulana Rafique Khan, stated that he was on routine patrol when he found the mosque loudspeaker playing at a volume exceeding the permissible levels.

“Sub-Inspector Chaudhary had previously warned the imam not to play the loudspeaker so loudly. When his instructions were ignored, the officer lodged a formal complaint that led to the registration of the FIR,” said Manoj Verma, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Baniyather police station.

Verma said that there had been complaints in the past from the residents regarding the high volume of the loudspeaker at the mosque. “A police team had visited the mosque and advised the imam to keep the sound within the permissible decibel limit.”

“Since no corrective action was taken and the violation was repeated, the police have now initiated legal proceedings in the matter,” Verma added.

Khan has been booked under BNS sections 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) and 293 (continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue), officials said.

According to police, Ghumthal is a Hindu-majority village.

“To prevent any untoward incident, security personnel have been deployed at the village as a precautionary measure,” the SHO added.

From the homepage

5 killed as passenger train collides with goods train in Bilaspur

‘He is Bihar’s guardian… can do no wrong’: 20 years later, why Nitish still NDA’s best bet

Why a curb on Trump’s tariff powers by US top court could deliver $500 mn refund, & possibly a fairer trade deal for India