Balmukund Acharya accused of sloganeering inside Jaipur mosque; BJP MLA clarifies amid protests

Jaipur: Tension flared in the Johri Bazar area here as protesters gathered in large numbers late on Friday night, accusing BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya of raising slogans targeting a community and pasting an offensive poster inside the Jama Masjid, a charge the lawmaker denied categorically.

Acharya, however, explained that he had joined a public meeting in the city's Badi Chaupad area during the day to pay tributes to the tourists slain by terrorists in Pahalgam and raised slogans condemning the act of terror and Pakistan, which India holds indirectly responsible for the bloodbath.

"People had gathered in large numbers and raised slogans, demanding action against the BJP MLA. The situation was brought under control peacefully," DCP (North) Rashi Dogra said on Saturday.

As the protest erupted, the Congress' Kishanpole MLA Amin Kagzi and Adarsh Nagar legislator Rafiq Khan also arrived at the scene, lending support to the demonstrators. A delegation of the agitators met Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph over the matter.

Later in the night, an FIR was filed at the Manak Chowk police station on Jama Masjid Committee member's complaint that Arharya and his supporters entered the mosque during night prayers, raised slogans targeting a community, pasted an offensive poster on the mosque's stairs, and making threats.

"We were offering night prayers when Balmukund Acharya entered the mosque, raised slogans and pasted objectionable posters on the stairs. Later, we met the police commissioner and registered an FIR," said Jama Masjid Committee Secretary Zaheer Ullah Khan.

Reacting to the incident, Acharya posted on X that he had participated in a protest earlier in the day against the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam.

"On a call given by Sarva Hindu Samaj, I joined a public outrage meeting at Jaipur's Badi Chaupad today to protest against the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and paid tributes to the innocent people killed. I protested against this incident by raising slogans of 'Pakistan Murdabad, Aatankvad Murdabad' (Down with Pakistan, down with terrorism)," Acharya wrote on the social media platform.

He added that thousands of people in Jaipur participated in the protest and expressed their anger over the incident.

Police said a case has been registered and an investigation initiated. The crowd outside the mosque dispersed peacefully after getting assurances from officials about police action over their complaints.

Religious sentiments are on the rise in some pockets following the dastardly terror attack on Tuesday that led to the death of 26 tourists. It got whipped up all the more after reports emerged that the attackers had asked about the religion of the victims before killing them.

Hindu Raksha Dal has issued online threats to Kashmiri students living in Dehradun, asking them to leave the state immediately while a restaurant worker was shot dead and his co-worker injured in Agra, with the accused claiming that it was to avenge the Pahalgam attack.