Tension gripped a village in Sultanpur district following a fatwa issued by the Bareilvi school of Muslim thought annulling the marriage of about 75 Muslim couples for attending a funeral prayer led by a mufti who, according to the edict, did not subscribe to the Sunni Muslim sect.

District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar said heavy police force had been deployed in the village to maintain order.

Over 150 people had participated in the namaz-e-janaza of a relative of Bahujan Samaj Party Member of Parliament Mohammad Tahir Khan on Wednesday.

The namaz was allegedly led by Maulana Mohammad Dada Peer of Hazratganj Masjid, who was related to Niyazi Fariq, considered to be 'anti-islamic' by the Bareilvi school of thought leading to the issuance of the fatwa.

The fatwa cancelled the nikah (marriage) of over 150 people, who participated in the namaz.

Meanwhile, All India Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangimahali termed the fatwa as uncalled for and unwarranted.

"Such fatwas pollute the minds of young Muslims and they tarnish the image of the Muslim community as a whole," he told PTI in Lucknow.