Seven people were detained briefly for reciting Hanuman Chalisa near a mosque on the premises of a college premises here when their fellow students were offering namaz there, police said on Wednesday.
However, student leader Vivekanand Singh of Uday Pratap College claimed Hanuman Chalisa was recited on Tuesday to protest against “outsiders” gathering at the mosque to offer prayers.
“We have no problem if the students here offer namaaz or worship in the mosque or temple on the college premises. But we do not accept that outsiders are gathering here in the name of offering namaz on the college premises,” he said.
Additional Commissioner of Police, Varanasi Cantt area, Vidush Saxena said the students were adamant about reciting Hanuman Chalisa near the mosque in the college premises on Tuesday. “The police pacified them and sent them back. The police also detained seven students who were released in the evening,” he said.