Shamli police detained an imam on charges of operating a loudspeaker installed in a mosque that “exceeds the permissible decibel limit.”
The police said that the imam of Ghamthal village in the area was repeatedly warned against “violating” the decibel limit after complaints from residents of the area. However, the police did not provide details regarding the volume level of the said loudspeaker in decibels.
Assistant Inspector Sonu Chaudhary, on whose complaint Maulana Rafiq Khan was booked by police, said he was on routine patrol when he found the mosque’s loudspeaker operating at a volume exceeding permissible levels.
“Sub-Inspector Chaudhary had earlier warned the imam not to turn on the loudspeaker loudly. When his instructions were ignored, the officer lodged a formal complaint which led to the registration of an FIR,” said Manoj Verma, Paniyather police station officer.
Verma said there had been complaints in the past from residents about the mosque’s loudspeaker being loud. “A police team visited the mosque and advised the imam to keep the sound within the permissible decibel limit.”
“Since no corrective action was taken and the violation was repeated, the police have now initiated legal action in the matter,” Verma added.
Officials said Khan was booked under BNS Section 223 (disobedience of order duly promulgated by public servant) and 293 (continuation of nuisance after judicial order to stop).
According to the police, Ghamthal is a Hindu majority village.
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“To prevent any untoward incident, security personnel have been deployed in the village as a precautionary measure,” the office added.
(tags for translation) Shamli Imam Booking
