Noida: An order issued by the police in Noida asking mostly multi-national companies to bar their employees from offering prayers in open public spaces in Sector 58 on Tuesday.
The notice issued specifically warned that the firms would be held responsible for any breach of this directive.
“There has been a sudden rise in number of people offering namaz in public parks here and the situation may led to some kind of problem as resident are resenting the weekly congregation,” said a local resident adding that initially there were 15 odd people seen offering namaz in parks but off-late the number had increased to no less than 500.
Although Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Pal clarified that the notice was not for any “particular religion”, it was widely believed that the notice pointed to the namaz offered by Muslims in open public spaces.
An official confirmed that at least a dozen companies in Sector 58 of Noida have been served the notice by the concerned police station, asking them to advice their employees to refrain from offering namaz at public places.
In this context, the official said that for any religious ceremony at a public place, the people are supposed to seek prior permission from the authorities.