A prayer room at Mumbai’s Inorbit Mall in Malad was allegedly demolished following objections from Hindutva groups after a video showing two girls giving a tour of the facility went viral on social media, The Observer Post reported on Monday.  

The controversy began when a video featuring two minor girls wearing hijabs showed the prayer room and urged visitors not to miss their daily prayers. The girls described the facility as well-equipped, with separate sections for men and women and a designated wuzu khana for ablutions. 

The video drew criticism from right-wing individuals and organisations, who objected to a dedicated space for namaz inside the shopping mall.

On October 30, Hindutva organisation Sakal Hindu Samaj shared the video on X, questioning why a separate prayer space had been provided at a mall frequented by people from different religious communities.

“Is Mumbai on the path to becoming Pakistan? This is a matter of serious concern for every Mumbaikar!” the organisation wrote.

It described the facility as a mosque or dedicated prayer space and questioned whether Hindus could similarly perform religious rituals at the mall. The group later staged a protest and demanded that the facility be removed.

On October 31, Sakal Hindu Samaj shared another video showing what it described as the prayer room before and after its demolition. The footage appeared to show broken tiles and a dismantled space.

The viral video also prompted backlash from right-wing social media accounts, with some describing the facility as an attempt to turn Mumbai into a “soft Islamic enclave” or Pakistan.

The controversy has drawn attention to the presence of prayer facilities in public spaces. While not all shopping centres in India provide dedicated prayer rooms, some malls offer such spaces for visitors to observe their religious practices.