A 22-year-old student was arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Police for allegedly performing namaz in an open space on campus of the Intellectual Institute of Management and Technology University in Meerut, PTI quoted police officials as saying on Sunday.

Khalil Pradhan’s arrest followed protests by local Hindu groups over a purported video of around 50 students performing namaz on the university campus. The incident likely took place on March 13, a day ahead of the Hindu festival of Holi, Superintendent of Police Rakesh Kumar Mishra told The Times of India.

Hindu groups demanded the arrest of those involved, emphasizing the large crowd of students visible in the video and its circulation during Holi, suggesting it was intended to provoke communal tensions.

A first information report in the case was filed on Friday against university authorities by a person identified as Kartik Hindu, Station House Officer Ganga Nagar police station Anoop Singh told PTI.

The case has been filed under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to deliberate acts intended to insult religious feelings, along with relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.

The private university’s administration suspended Pradhan and three security personnel over the incident and separately initiated administrative action against Pradhan, who allegedly posted the video.

“Once the video surfaced, a committee was constituted to investigate the matter,” Sunil Sharma, the university’s media spokesperson told The Times of India. “We learned that no permission was taken from the administration for namaz on campus. It seemed to be a spontaneous act.”

Sharma added that Pradhan, “the main culprit” was summoned by the investigating panel to present his case, but he failed to appear and was subsequently suspended.