A right wing protestor detained by the UP police in Lucknow on Saturday (Screengrab: Twitter)

By Veena Nair  / Siasat

The Uttar Pradesh police detained three people belonging to the right-wing organisation, Hindu Samaj Party after they allegedly attempted to recite Sundar Kand Path inside the controversial Lulu Mall premises.

Speaking to ANI, Rajesh Srivastava, Additional Deputy Commissioner Police (ADCP) South, Lucknow said, “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.”

They were protesting against the reading of Namaz by a few Muslim men. The video had gone viral on the social media platform Twitter dividing netizens on the issue.

A large number of police officials have been deployed in and around Lulu Mall surroundings to prevent further tension.

The protestors wanted to perform the Sundar Khand Path ritual. Sundarkhand is a scripture read-only on Tuesdays and Saturdays by devotees of Lord Hanuman. By reading it, one wades off evil presence or any negative energy in the nearby surroundings.

Lulu Mall controversy

Days after its inauguration on July 10 by state chief minister Yogi Adityanath, Lucknow’s biggest mall Lulu Mall landed into controversy when a video of a group of people offering namaz in an open space in the shopping arena of the mall went viral on social media. The video garnered strong reactions from right-wing organisations.

In a statement issued in this regard, the organisations asked the Hindu community to boycott the mall.

According to a report by Hindustan Times (HT), the management of Lulu mall was forced to lodge an FIR against the unidentified people on Thursday at Sushant Golf City police station for obstructing visitors to the mall.

This article first appeared in siasat.com