Nupur Sharma's controversial remarks: Curfew continues in J&K's Doda, Kishtwar towns; 2 booked in UP for sharing anti-Prophet posts

New Delhi: Jammu and Kashmir`s Doda and Kishtwar towns will continue to have curfew restrictions for the fifth consecutive day on Monday, in view of the recent communal tensions after the controversial remarks made by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma. The police have arrested one person for making an inflammatory speech. Authorities have decided to continue curfew restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPc in the two towns to maintain law and order as the groups of two communities have been accusing each other of stoking communal tensions after some miscreants posted purported announcements from a local mosque, said an IANS report.

One person named Aadil Gafoor Ganai was reportedly arrested for delivering an inflammatory speech from the Markazi Jamia Masjid Bhaderwah on June 9 during a protest rally against the recent controversial remarks made by Nupur Sharma. Meanwhile, there was no report of any untoward incident from anywhere as heavy deployment continued in the two towns.

Uttar Pradesh: 2 booked for sharing anti-Prophet posts

Two persons, including a woman, have been booked for allegedly passing derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad in Uttar Pradesh`s Bareilly district. One more person, belonging to the minority community, was also booked for his alleged remarks against a BJP leader on social media, according to an IANS report.

According to reports, extra police personnel have been deployed near every place of worship and local leaders have been advised to spread a message of peace to maintain communal harmony. One of the accused booked by police at Prem Nagar police station is Kuldeep Kumar, who is a history sheeter and has been arrested on multiple occasions by the police. He had shared an objectionable post on social media.

The second FIR was for sharing a similar kind of social media post against Prophet Muhammad under section 295A (deliberate or malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings of any class) while the third FIR was registered against Rehan Khan, who had shared an inflammatory content against Nupur Sharma.

Bareilly Senior Superintendent of Police, Rohit Singh Sajwan, told IANS, "We have booked three persons and will take action against everyone who is sharing this objectionable content, regardless of religion or caste."

JNUSU stages protest against demolition of a house in Prayagraj

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union staged a demonstration on the JNU campus against the demolition of the house of activist and former JNU student Afreen Fatima in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj. The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) on Sunday demolished the house of Javed Ahmad, alias Pump, the alleged mastermind of the June 10 violence in Prayagraj, amid heavy police deployment. Ahmad is Fatima's father.

JNUSU members raised slogans against what they termed "bulldozer raj" of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government and held placards reading: "Stop the witch-hunt of Muslims". The building map of Ahmad's house had not been approved by the PDA, according to an agency official.

Protests against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma spun out of control in Prayagraj and some other parts of Uttar Pradesh on June 10. In Prayagraj, a mob set on fire a few motorcycles and carts and also attempted to set ablaze a police vehicle. Police used tear gas and lathis to disperse the protesters and restore peace. A policeman was injured in the violence.

Notably, Ahmad has been arrested in connection with the violence and is being interrogated, said the police.

(Inputs from IANS/PTI)