BAREILLY: Right-wing activists staged a protest at the Kotwali police station in Pilibhit on Saturday, demanding registration of an FIR against a hockey coach, Abid Ali, for allegedly offering namaz in the stadium premises.
They continued to agitate for over an hour till they were assured that action would be taken on their written complaint. The coach denied ever offering namaz on the stadium grounds. A probe has been ordered into the matter.
Coach Abid Ali, who represented India in U-16 category in late 1980s, said that he never offered prayers on the ground but he does offer prayers outside the ground as the time of evening prayers coincides with the training time. He was granted permission for the same since he joined in 2014.
An alumnus of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Ali has been coaching young hockey players in Pilibhit without any financial remuneration from the UP government.
Ali told TOI, “During the break from practice session, I move out of the ground and go to a corner to offer prayers. While I was a junior in Punjab, a senior coach had told me that I can offer namaz in the stadium but I never offered prayers on the ground. I have a great respect for the game and I cannot do anything unethical on the sports ground.”
City magistrate Arun Kumar Singh, who met the protesters, and assured them a transparent probe into the matter. He told TOI, “I have asked the sports in-charge to probe the matter and provide me the report. No FIR has been registered.”
