Stone pelting, protests in UP cities over Prophet comment; 136 arrested

By PTI

LUCKNOW: People pelted stones at police personnel in Prayagraj and Saharanpur and protests broke out after Friday prayers in a minimum of 4 different cities in Uttar Pradesh over a non-suspended BJP chief’s latest remarks on Prophet Mohammad.

Police have arrested greater than 130 individuals from six districts of the state.

In Prayagraj, some bikes and carts have been set on hearth and an try was made to set ablaze a police automobile. Police used tear fuel and lathis to disperse mobs and peace was later restored, they stated, including that one policeman was damage within the area.

“As many as 136 protesting miscreants were arrested from six districts of the state till 9.45 pm on Friday,” Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar stated. He stated 45 protesters have been arrested from Saharanpur, 37 from Prayagraj, 23 individuals from Ambedkar Nagar, 20 from Hathras, seven from Moradabad, and 4 from Firozabad district.

There was slogan-shouting in opposition to the now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her remarks throughout a TV debate, which additionally triggered outrage in a number of Islamic nations.

In Saharanpur, protesters demanded the loss of life sentence for her. There have been additionally protests in Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur and Lucknow over the controversial remarks. Sloganeering passed off in Lucknow.

According to the native individuals, stone pelting continued for over quarter-hour in Prayagraj. They stated among the miscreants pelted stones on the police personnel deployed on the principle street and the scenario escalated when extra individuals joined the stone pelters.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Awasthi stated, “Minor force was used to stop some people involved in the violence. The situation in Prayagraj is now peaceful. I would like to appeal to people to use democratic ways of protest without resorting to violence.”

Uttar Pradesh’s Director General of Police (DGP) D S Chauhan stated no life has been misplaced due to the right preparations made by the state police. “Because of our preparedness, no life has been lost. We will take strict action against those found involved in the violence,” he stated.

Additional Director General (ADG), Parayagraj Zone, Prem Prakash stated a constable of Rapid Action Force (RAF) was injured throughout stone pelting within the area. Additional police drive and groups of RAF have been rushed to the spot. The police additionally fired tear fuel shells and used drive to cease the miscreants, he stated.

In Saharanpur, individuals holding placards raised slogans in opposition to Nupur Sharma. Some of them additionally turned violent after the safety personnel tried to cease them. This led to temporary stone pelting within the Nehru market space of the town.

Some madrasa college students additionally raised slogans within the Deoband space. The protesters additionally raised slogans demanding capital punishment for the suspended BJP chief.

District Magistrate Akhilesh Singh instructed PTI, “Police had to retort to force when the protesters refused to hear the appeals of peace by police personnel. The protestors are being identified using CCTV footage for further action.”

Four individuals, together with the district president of AIMIM, have been arrested in Bijnor as a precautionary measure.

Superintendent of Police Dharamveer Singh stated AIMIM district chief Abdullah together with one Iftekhar, Mahroof and Akil have been arrested for inciting communal hatred.

According to the police, the accused referred to as a gathering close to Purani Musfi space in Bijnor. The arrests have been made on the grievance of individuals from the Muslim neighborhood, the SP stated.

People demanded motion in opposition to the BJP chief and waved banners with “Arrest Nupur Sharma” written on them in Rampur and Moradabad.

In Kanpur, which was the epicentre of communal violence final week, the Friday prayers have been held in a peaceable method with no reviews of any untoward incident. The prayers have been held below a watertight safety vigil by police personnel.

A heavy police drive was deployed within the space with senior police and administrative officers current on the spot. This comes following clashes final week in Kanpur over the remarks on the Prophet at a TV debate some days earlier.

A excessive alert was issued throughout the state after that, and a heavy police drive was deployed to make sure that violence doesn’t happen once more.