38-year-old Nazeera and her 19-year-old daughter Sabina, have been arrested for allegedly offering namaz at a Shiva temple in Bareilly.

New Delhi: A 38-year-old woman and her teenage daughter were arrested on Sunday after they were allegedly seen offering namaz (Islamic prayers) at a Shiva temple in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. According to the police, the mother-daughter duo performed namaz inside the temple premises on the advice of Muslim cleric who has also been arrested.

A senior official said action was taken based on a complaint in this regard from Kesarpur village head’s husband, Prem Singh, who alleged that the incident took place on Friday.

“A woman, identified as 38-year-old Nazeera, her 19-year-old daughter Sabina, and a cleric, Chaman Shah Miyan have been booked for hurting religious sentiments,” Circle Officer (CO) Gaurav Singh told news agency PTI.

Based on the complaint lodged by Prem Singh, an FIR was registered under IPC sections 295A (act to outrage religious feelings of a community) and 120B (criminal conspiracy), and an investigation was launched, the CO said, adding that all three accused have been sent to jail after the arrest and are being questioned.

Meanwhile, videos shared on social media sites showed conflicting visuals of the incident. The woman can be seen offering namaz inside the temple premises in some videos,  while another clip showed the accused and her daughter doing “aarti” and praying to a Hindu deity at the Shiva temple.

Watch the video here: (Disclaimer: India.com could not independently verify the veracity of the videos)

Video1: What #rightwing showed, video2: What happened before
Pls decide whether these women were offering namaz or praying a #Hindu God.
Visuals R from UP’s Bareilly where these women from Delhi R booked for outraging religious sentiments & criminal conspiracy and sent to jail pic.twitter.com/hDi0fj4R6z

— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI) September 17, 2023

More details regarding the incident are awaited.

(With PTI inputs)