Lulu mall, which was inaugurated in Lucknow last week on July 10, has been embroiled in controversy since it opened. After a video showing unknown men offering namaz within the mall premises went viral, a right-wing outfit alleged preferential hiring and “love jihad” being carried out by the mall’s administration.
Even as the administration put out statements refuting many of these claims, activists from the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) and Karni Sena arrived outside the mall premises to hold protest demonstrations by reciting the Hanuman Chalisa and Sunderkand. Two were arrested and several others were detained following this.
The mall continues to be steeped in controversy as UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath hauled up district and state police administrations on Monday night, directing them to check anti-social elements from disturbing communal harmony and lawlessness.
Here is a deeper look at the sequence of events that took place.
The Mall Opening and Namaz Video
The mall, opened by the Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Group led by Indian-origin billionaire Yussuf Ali MA, was inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on July 10 in Lucknow.
The mall, located at Amar Shaheed Path, Golf City, is the fifth by Lulu Group in India, after the group has established malls in Kochi, Thrissur, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram. During its ground-breaking ceremony that was organised in Lucknow recently, the Lulu Group showcased its upcoming shopping mall projects, in Prayagraj and Varanasi, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, chief minister Yogi Adityanath and defence minister Rajnath Singh.
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana and former Deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma were also present at the inaugural function in Lucknow.
The mall opened to the public on July 11. A day later, a video showing unidentified persons offering namaz in the mall’s premises went viral. Following this, the Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) issued a warning saying that if namaz was being offered in public spaces, it would protest by holding demonstrations and reciting the sundarkand, according to a report by The Week. ‘The government has directed that namaz cannot be offered in public spaces…if this happens again we shall protest’, their statement said. They also claimed in their statement that 70 percent of the mall’s employees belonged to one religion and alleged ‘love jihad’ was being promoted by the mall.
According to The Wire, members of the Mahasabha lodged a complaint with the Golf City Police Station in Lucknow against the mall. In their complaint, they alleged that 70 percent of the employees are male Muslims and 30 percent are Hindu female staff. They also sought permission to recite ‘sundarkand’ in the mall.
Administration Responds, FIRs Lodged
Following the complaints, the Lulu Mall administration filed a complaint on the same day and the UP Police lodged an FIR based on their complaint, against the unidentified people offering namaz in the video for “promoting enmity between religious groups”, as per The Wire.
They were also booked under IPC sections 341 (Punishment for wrongful restraint), 505 (Statements conducing public mischief) and 295A (Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), said a report in the New Indian Express. “FIR is lodged and police are probing matter using CCTV footage in connection with viral videos of people offering namaz at LuLu Mall,” said Rajesh Srivastava, ADCP, South Lucknow. On Tuesday, four more people were detained.
The Mall administration also responded by putting up notices on the premises stating that religious prayers were not permitted on July 15, Friday, as per a Hindustan Times report.
Meanwhile, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha released another video of people offering namaz at the mall on the same day and called the mall Lulu Masjid, according to the report. Following this, people allegedly attempted to recite the sundarkand at the mall on Friday. The Uttar Pradesh Police detained three people from the Mall, who belonged to Hindu Samaj Party and were detained at the mall’s entry gate, according to the report.
“Three people were detained from the entry gate of Lulu Mall in Lucknow for allegedly attempting to recite Sundarkand inside the mall premises. Three people of the Hindu Samaj Party were detained at the mall’s gate. Currently, there’s a peaceful situation,” ADCP South, Lucknow, Rajesh Srivastava said.
According to Hindustan Times, Lulu Mall authorities on Friday went to Hindu Mahasasabha national spokesperson Shishir Chaturvedi’s residence as the group was planning a protest and assured him that there will be no namaz reading inside the mall.
While the Hindu body claimed the employees of the mall were offering namaz, the mall authorities said their internal inquiry found that no staff members were involved.
Demonstrations Continue
Despite arrests, Hindu outfits and right-wing activists continued to hold demonstrations at the mall.
According to the New Indian Express, the protests continued on Saturday when a number of right-wing supporters, including those of the Karni Sena, thronged the mall to recite Hanuman Chalisa inside it.
They were arrested before they could enter the mall, amid the deployment of a heavy contingent of the police force and Provincial Armed Constabulary. Karni Sena gave a call to their followers to reach the mall and recite the Sundarkand there, following which security was further beefed up and section 144 was imposed in areas around the mall.
Several right-wing activists were arrested and booked for promoting enmity between different groups and intending to outrage religious feelings, according to The New Indian Express.
Refuting Claims
As the police sought to find the unidentified people in the viral video that started the controversy, investigation of the CCTV footage found that it was a deliberate mischief to malign the mall and cause enmity and hatred between communities, according to the National Herald. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Rajesh Kumar Shrivastava said that the footage made it clear that the men in the video had no clue about how namaz is offered.
Late on Saturday evening, after over 20 people were arrested for protesting outside the mall, DCP (South) and Sushant Golf City Inspector were replaced for their failure to scan the CCTV footage at the beginning of the controversy, as per the National Herald report.
The mall administration further refuted claims made by the ABHM about its employment policy by releasing a statement that said that 80 percent of its employees are Hindus. “Our employees are hired on the basis of skills and merit, and not based on caste, class, or religion,” it said. “It’s saddening that some selfish elements are trying to target our establishment,” the statement said, according to NDTV, further clarifying that their employees comprise 80 percent Hindus, and the rest are Muslims, Christians and from various other communities.
Protests Intensified, CM Hauls Up Admin
Protests and demonstrations by right-wing outfits continued on Sunday, when the police stopped over two dozen people affiliated with an outfit from going for a protest outside the mall. The police said that five Hindu outfit activists’ vehicles with posters supporting a boycott of Lulu Mall were stopped and forced to turn back after police explained that an investigation was underway and the truth would soon emerge, a Hindustan Times report said.
Security outside the mall was intensified and a company of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was deployed to avoid further trouble.
Uttar Pradesh CM, Yogi Adityanath, on Monday evening hauled up the Lucknow administration over the protests outside the mall. “It should take the matter seriously and such lapses will not be tolerated. Miscreants trying to create disturbance in the mall should be dealt with strictly,” IANS quoted him as saying. “Unnecessary statements were being made by certain people and demonstrations being organised to obstruct the movement of people visiting the mall. No one should be permitted to obstruct traffic on the road by organising prayers or other events,” he directed.
“Those who take the law in their hands will be investigated, there are attempts to do this and ruin peace, those attempting to promote disharmony will be strictly investigated, there will be no religious demonstrations of any kind on streets and in public places,” he further added.
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