Nahan shopkeeper booked for hurting religious sentiments

Nahan, June 20

The Sirmaur police today registered a case against a shopkeeper under Section 295A of the IPC at Sadar Police Station in Nahan for hurting religious sentiments by uploading images of cow slaughter on WhatsApp status.

The controversy began on Tuesday afternoon, leading to widespread outrage by the evening. Calls for a market shutdown and demonstrations were given for Wednesday. Initially, the police claimed that the images were uploaded from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, hence the case could be registered there. A senior police official reiterated the same position on Wednesday as well. However, it was now confirmed that the district police had registered a case in the matter.

Yesterday, an angry mob vandalised Javed’s shop and threw merchandise and clothings outside the shop in response to the controversial WhatsApp status upload by him. The tension remained high throughout the evening. As a precautionary measure, police personnel were still deployed in the market. Protesters had asked the shop owners to get vacated the premises occupied by traders from other states, particularly from Saharanpur.