SP leader booked over prayers on Moradabad Circuit House road, Pawan Khera calls it a ‘disgrace’

A prayer beside a parked car at Moradabad’s government-run Circuit House has turned into a political and legal controversy after a video of the incident spread on social media.

The man shown in the video is Haji Mohammad Usman, the Samajwadi Party’s district vice-president and the uncle of Bilari MLA Mohammad Faheem Irfan. The incident reportedly took place on Thursday, September 3, after a review meeting of SP leaders at the Circuit House. Lal Bihari Yadav, the Leader of the Opposition in Uttar Pradesh’s Legislative Council, had been staying there under official protocol and held the meeting with local party leaders.

Officials said Usman stepped outside after the meeting and prayed near the lawn. A video reportedly recorded by an SP worker shows him offering namaz beside a parked car. The footage surfaced on Friday, prompting arguments over whether religious activity should be allowed on government property. Some social media users described the act as an individual expression of faith, while others questioned the location and circumstances.

Police registered a case against Usman under sections 285 and 292 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, concerning danger or obstruction on a public way and public nuisance. Congress MP Pawan Khera reacted sharply to reports of the FIR. “He happens to be Haji Mohammad Usman - Samajwadi Party district vice-president, and the uncle of Bilari MLA Mohammad Faheem Irfan - a Muslim. What a disgrace!,” he wrote on X.

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He happens to be Haji Mohammad Usman - Samajwadi Party district vice-president, and the uncle of Bilari MLA Mohammad Faheem Irfan - a Muslim. What a disgrace!