BJP leader moves against 72 Mumbai mosques over ‘illegal’ loudspeakers
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New Delhi: Former MP and BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has filed a police complaint over the alleged use of unauthorised loudspeakers at 72 mosques in the Mankhurd Govandi suburb in eastern Mumbai, an official said on Sunday.
The BJP leader filed the complaint on Saturday during a visit to the area under the Shivajinagar Police Station, Govandi, and cited an RTI reply which showed that 72 mosques were using loudspeakers without police permission.
He said, "I have lodged a complaint at the police station. Unauthorised loudspeakers have been installed on 72 mosques in Govandi, which are without police approval. I have demanded immediate action from the officials on this."
He argues that the excessive noise from these religious premises not only violates the law but also poses a problem for nearby residents.
Kirit Somaiya, a former Lok Sabha MP, has been waging a campaign against unauthorised loudspeakers on mosques in various Mumbai neighbourhoods for several months.
In a post on social media platform X, Somaiya shared a copy of the RTI reply in which the police confirmed the presence of illegal loudspeakers in the Shivajinagar Police Station area and colonies nearby.
“Loudspeakers are used illegally by 72 mosques in the Shivajinagar Police Station area. Police permission has not been given to any of these 72 masjids to use loudspeakers,” he said.
An RTI application sought information on mosques using loudspeakers in Deonar, Shivajinagar, and Tilaknagar police station areas. Specifically, it asked for the number of mosques with loudspeakers and how many had police permission between January 1, 2024, and February 17, 2025.
The police reply, signed by officers Bapurao Deshmukh, Mahesh Patil, Deepak Mahadik and Vikrant Shide, said: "No permission has been given from Shivajinagar Police Station to install loudspeakers on mosques during the specified period in the application."
The police reply also clarified that no complaint had been received during the specified period in the application regarding the presence of loudspeakers on 72 mosques in the Shivajinagar police station area and unauthorised loudspeakers being played.
Somaiya’s demand for action against illegal use of loudspeakers comes close to a similar action taken by Uttar Pradesh police in Sambhal, where FIRs were filed against mosque imams for exceeding permitted noise levels.
Later, as part of enforcement of an Allahabad High Court direction on noise pollution control, the authorities removed loudspeakers from the Shahi Jama Masjid and other mosques in Sambhal.
(inputs from IANS)
