12 booked over slogans against man accused of stoking religious tension in UP town

Twelve unidentified people have been booked over slogans they raised during a protest demanding the arrest of a traders' body office-bearer, accused of making objectionable remarks against Prophet Muhammad on social media, police said on Thursday.

The FIR was registered at Ekauna Police Station on Wednesday, under Section 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religions, race etc) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Station House Officer Ashwani Kumar Dubey said.

Most of the individuals who were shouting the slogans outside the police station have been identified through CCTV footages, Dubey said.

A complaint was filed by Abdul Latif on Tuesday against Kanhaiya Kasaudhan, a divisional president of Uttar Pradesh Vyapar Mandal, alleging that he made objectionable comments against Prophet Muhammad on his Facebook account, the SHO said.

Kasaudhan was booked under Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by words either spoken or written) of the BNS, Dubey said.

After the FIR, some people held a protest outside the police station demanding Kasudhan's arrest, he said, adding that probe is on in both the cases.