Bengaluru: A viral letter that claimed the Director-General and Inspector General of Karnataka Police, Praveen Sood, had ordered the removal of loudspeakers from mosques is fake, police authorities confirmed Thursday.
An unverified letter had been doing the rounds on social media and was shared by several pro-Hindu groups that purportedly stated that the DGP called for “suitable action” to be taken on a petition filed by a local advocate Harsha Muthalik, who sought the removal of loudspeakers from mosques.
The petition by Muthalik claimed that the loudspeakers disturbed people living near the mosque and it was in the interest of society to remove them.
However, a fact-check by the Karnataka Police Thursday noted that that viral letter had been “issued mischievously” without proper authorisation.
“No such instructions have been issued to remove the sound systems from the mosques as is being interpreted in the social media. Further enquiry into the matter is underway,” the statement by the police read.
“The root of the letter is being investigated and the miscreants will be brought to book,” DGP Sood told ThePrint.
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Letter had created a stir among Muslims
The letter had created a stir among the members of the Muslim community, especially in the backdrop of the core committee of the ruling BJP resolving to recommend a legislation against the alleged phenomenon ‘love jihad’ and the re-introduction of the anti-cow slaughter legislation.
According to a report in The Hindu, the letter had increased fears among the Muslim community that it could be used by right-wing organisations to remove loudspeakers in mosques.
A former bureaucrat was quoted as saying that according to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, loudspeakers and public address systems cannot be used unless with a written permission.
“Neither any mosque in the state, nor any other religious place of worship have the practice of availing this licence,” he said.
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