BJP MP irks Delhi police by tweeting video of Muslims offering namaz

New Delhi, May 16: West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma on Thursday posted a two-month-old video of Muslims offering namaz in large numbers in the national capital and claimed they were violating lockdown and social distancing rules, that irked Delhi Police that asked him to "verify before posting and spreading rumours".

However, both Verma and Delhi Police have deleted their tweets.

Verma tweeted an old video of Muslims offering namaz, and wrote in Hindi, "Does any religion permit this kind of act during coronavirus (pandemic)? Lockdown and social distancing norms have been completely destroyed.

Verma further asked Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to deduct salaries of maulvis to stop these practices.

Delhi Police on Friday responded to Verma's tweet saying the video is old and "is being used with a malicious intent to spread rumour".

"This is totally false. An old video is being used with a malicious intent to spread rumour. Please verify before posting and spreading rumours," read the tweet by DCP East Delhi.

The video was posted on Twitter on 20 March, five days before the nationwide lockdown came into effect, according to fact-checking website Alt News.

The 1.27-minute video shows a number of Muslims are offering namaz together on a road in East Delhi's Patparganj.