Saharanpur: The Darul Uloom Deoband clerics are displeased with Baghpat Superintendent of Police, Abhishek Singh, for suspending a Sub-Inspector Intesar Ali for keeping a beard, calling the action against the sub-inspector as ‘wrong’.
National president of the Ittehad Ulema-e-Hind Maulana Qari Mustafa Dehelvi said that the action has been made based on bias and should be condemned.
He requested that the government make a move against Abhishek Singh, the SP.
Some different clerics, who talked on condition of anonymity, likewise said that the action was an outcome of ‘religious vendetta’.
Ali said, “Yes, I have been suspended because of my beard.”
Talking to Clarion India from Baghpat, Ali said he is keeping a beard for religious reasons and completely has the right to do so. He asked, “For what reason should I remove my beard?”
Ali joined the police department as a sub-inspector and was posted in Baghpat for three years and he comes from a village close to Deoband in the Saharanpur area.
He said he is a faithful Muslim and would offer prayers daily while on the job at the police headquarters and nobody ever had a problem with his practice.
He said that he had applied for approval to keep a beard however got no reply.
Ali stated: “I perform my duty and also offer my namaz. I never thought I would be punished like this for having a beard. I have my right to live and follow my religion.’
He added: “There are two more Muslim police officers with me here but they do not keep a beard and it is their choice; I cannot force them to follow my path.”
As the news on suspension showed up on the internet, it started sharp responses from social media users who said that the UP police were being “unfair” against a Muslim cop.
Ali says he has served on the force since 1994 and that the beard was never an issue in his 25 years of service.
In 2012, A Maharashtra policeman was suspended for desiring to keep facial hair against service rules. He then declined a proposal by the Supreme Court to let him join back on sympathetic grounds while the court handled the matter.
The policeman was initially allowed to have facial hair, if only it was maintained, and kept the beard neat and clean. The approval was later pulled back by the commandant as it was contradictory to the standards and disciplinary procedures began against him.
The case has not been able to see an end as it’s still been pending for a hearing.
