Protests erupt in several cities over Prophet remarks; curfew, shutdown in parts of J-K

New Delhi/Srinagar, June 10

Protests broke out in some states on Friday, including outside Delhi’s Jama Masjid, over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by two now-suspended BJP functionaries with demonstrators in Jharkhand injuring a few policemen, while authorities in Jammu imposed a curfew in few areas and parts of Kashmir observed a shutdown.

At some places, the protesters pelted the police with stones prompting the latter to baton charge them and use tear gas shells.

In Delhi, the protesters massed outside the historic Jama Masjid after the Friday prayers demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

Some of the people, who gathered on the steps of the mosque, carried placards and shouted slogans against Sharma and Naveen Jindal, former head of the Delhi BJP’s media unit.

Senior police officials said the protest was held peacefully and lasted for 15 to 20 minutes. The protesters were later dispersed from the area.

Several students of Jamia Millia Islamia staged a demonstration on the varsity campus here and demanded the arrest of Sharma. They raised slogans and also held placards that read—‘Blasphemy is RSS’s inborn language, Save India from them, Arrest Nupur Sharma’ and ‘Stop Attacking Muslim’.

In Jhankhand, some policemen were injured while trying to control demonstrators near Hanuman Temple situated on Ranchi’s Main Road. Police fired in air and resorted to baton charge to control the protesters who spilled out on the road after the Friday prayers and pelted stones and shouted slogans.

Police officials said the protests were continuing since morning and picked up tempo post-Friday prayers. Many shops and establishments kept their shutters down in protest against the contorversial remarks.

Tension mounted in Jammu’s Bhaderwah and some areas of Kishtwar prompting authorities to impose curfew, while parts of Kashmir observed a shutdown.

Internet services were snapped in the Bhaderwah and Kishtwar towns and Srinagar city of Kashmir as a precautionary measure. Mobile Internet was also suspended in parts of Kashmir, officials said.

Sporadic incidents of stone-pelting were reported in Bhaderwah town. Some people, violating restrictions, came out on the streets and threw stones at security forces while raising slogans.

In Srinagar, protests were held at Lal Chowk, Batamaloo, Tengpora and other places with the demonstrators holding placards.

Jammu and Kashmir DGP Dilbag Singh said efforts are on defuse tension in Bhaderwah town and appealed to the people to behave responsibly and not get misled by provocation besides maintaining communal harmony.

He said curfew was been imposed as a precautionary measure to maintain peace.

Protests also broke out at several places in Uttar Pradesh with policemen pelted with stones by people in Prayagraj and Saharanpur after Friday prayers.

In Prayagraj, some motorcycles and carts were set on fire and an attempt made to set ablaze a police vehicle.

Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the demonstrators and peace was later restored, officials said, adding one policeman was hurt in Prayagraj.

There was slogan-shouting against Sharma. In Saharanpur, the protesters demanded death sentence for her.

There were also protests in Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur and Lucknow. Sloganeering took place in Lucknow.

Hundreds of protesters blocked roads in different parts of Howrah district in West Bengal. Some agitators clashed with personnel at Dhulagarh, Panchla and Uluberia when they tried to lift the blockade on National Highway-6.

Police had to baton charge to disperse the crowd at Dhulagarh and Panchla, where the demonstrators pelted stones in retaliation, causing damage to nearby cars, police said.

The protesters also blocked railway tracks between Fuleswar and Chengail stations in the Howrah-Kharagpur section from 1.22 pm, a South Eastern Railway official said.

In Gujarat, protests were held in some areas of Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Shops and markets in Muslim-dominated Dariyapur and Karanj areas in Ahmedabad remained shut while in Dariyapur, several men and teenagers gathered on a main road with placards proclaiming love for the Prophet and demanding the arrest of Sharma.

They said Sharma, and others who make such statements, must be charged under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Police officials said shops in most parts of the old city remained open and the day went off normally in other Muslim-dominated areas, such as Kalupur.

Members of the Muslim community staged protests in several cities of Maharashtra though no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.

In Panvel city in Navi Mumbai, at least 3,000 protesters including around 1,000 women took out a protest march, seeking the arrest of Sharma and Jindal.

A delegation submitted a memorandum to Panvel tehsildar and the protest was over peacefully by 4 pm, said a local police official.

A protest was also held at Shivaji Chowk in Vashi, where a delegation submitted their demands to the Vashi Police Station. Similar protest gatherings or marches were held in Thane, Aurangabad, Solapur, Nandurbar, Parbhani, Beed, Latur, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Pune.

Meanwhile, a complaint was filed at a court in Muzaffarpur in Bihar against Sharma, Jindal and religious leader Swami Yati Narsinghanand by a social activist.

The BJP on Sunday suspended Sharma and Jindal after their derogatory comments on the Prophet stoked a furore including in the Arab world.