A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath pulled up the administration over the Lulu mall issue, on Tuesday Mahant Paramhans Das of Ayodhya was taken into custody after he reached the Mall carrying water to ‘purify’ the premises further escalating the ongoing controversy.
After he was prevented from entering into the mall, a minor scuffle with the police personnel also took place.
While talking to reporters, the seer told that if saints are not being permitted into the mall, then it should be shut down.
Paramhans Das, who is known for creating controversies at regular intervals, was recently prevented from entering into the Taj Mahal and performing puja.
Earlier, he had written to the President demanding a Hindu Rashtra.
A video sparked a controversy recently in which some people were seen offering namaz inside the Lulu mall and protests followed. “Some are making unnecessary remarks and staging demonstrations, to obstruct the movement of people. Lucknow administration must take the matter very seriously,” said CM Yogi.
The UP CM has already pulled up the district and police administration over the protests organised outside Lulu mall in Lucknow where he had directed the administration to check anti-social elements from disturbing communal harmony and lawlessness.
Earlier on Friday, the Uttar Pradesh Police detained three people from Lucknow’s Lulu Mall for allegedly attempting to recite Sundarkand inside the mall premises.
As per police officials, the three arrested people belonged to Hindu Samaj Party. They were detained at the mall’s entry gate.
The chief minister said that Lulu mall, a business establishment, had been turned into a political hotbed.
On July 15, an FIR has been registered against unidentified persons amid the row over namaz inside the recently inaugurated Lulu Mall in Lucknow, police said.
The FIR has been registered under the relevant section of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the complaint of Shishir Chaturvedi from Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha.
(With inputs from agencies)