UP clerk suspended for Quran recitation in SDM court

District Magistrate Singh, when contacted, denied that Ahmad was suspended for holding the religious function, and said that action was taken against him as he is facing charges of irregularities.

However, ADM (Judicial) M P Singh, who conducted the probe on the basis of which Ahmad was suspended, said that the nazir had organised ‘Qurankhani’ inside the SDM court without seeking anyone’s permission, and therefore he was suspended.

“Yesterday, I had gone to the tehsil and questioned people there. I found that there is a new tehsil that is being built near the old one. There is a nazir there. He called clerics from a mosque in Firoznagar Kotla area and held Qurankhaani inside the SDM court which is not being used till now. I asked tehsildar Sandhya Sharma what happened. Ahmad had left the tehsil premises without informing Sharma. This happened on Monday morning. I was told by tehsil staff that there is a Muslim graveyard near the new tehsil building. But, whatever, he did is wrong. He can’t do this in a government building, and I wrote to the DM seeking action against Ahmad. I had recommended his suspension,” the ADM said.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Tehsildar Sandhya Sharma said that people have been complaining of negative energy in the new tehsil building because of a graveyard in front of it. “He (Ahmad) did not ask or inform anyone and read scriptures in the court. He did this so that the place can be rid of the so-called negative energy,” Sharma said.

The District Magistrate, on the other hand, said that action against Ahmad was taken due to irregularities in his work. “Several irregularities were found in his (Ahmad) work. Most of the paperwork that he is supposed to do was found pending and action was taken against him due to those irregularities. The action was not taken due to the issue of the recital of the Quran inside the under-construction SDM court premises. That has nothing to do with his suspension,” said the DM.

According to the DM, Ahmad did not present his side on the various allegations regarding lapses in paperwork. “He has also switched off his phone since Monday,” the DM added.

Meanwhile, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Rashid Ali Khan said that he is currently busy with police recruitment in Kanpur and was not present in the district when the incident happened. “I am in Kanpur since November 28 for police recruitment drive. I am not sure what has happened. After I go back to Auraiya, I will take stock of what has happened. I have heard that the nazir got verses from the Quran read there,” said SDM Khan.

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