NEW DELHI, June 18: The khadims of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti’s shrine in Ajmer have rejected demands by some of its officials to ban women from praying there, the Hindu reported on Sunday.

It said the khadims had taken action against a member of their fraternity for creating a controversy by issuing ‘wrong statements’ about the entry of women into the shrine.

The committee of khadims had barred S.S. Hasan Chishti from guiding visitors to the dargah and stopped the payment of his share of offerings at the shrine for a month, its secretary Syed Sarwar Chishti told Press Trust of India.

Hasan had reportedly said in an interview with a TV news channel that Muslim women were ‘second category’ citizens.

He had also written a letter to the dargah’s caretaker, saying women should not be allowed to offer prayers with men at the shrine.