Bulldozers target houses of 'Prophet Mohammed' remark protestors in Uttar Pradesh

Sources said that more demolitions could be expected in Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Hathras, Kanpur and other places that witnessed protests

Houses belonging to Muslims who had allegedly led statewide protests across Uttar Pradesh against BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's objectionable remarks on Prophet Mohammed, were labelled as 'illegal' and razed with bulldozers.

On Sunday, the administration razed a portion of the house of the alleged mastermind behind protests in Prayagraj, Javed Mohammed claiming that it was illegal and that he had been served notices by the authorities asking him to demolish the illegally built portion of the house.

A senior police official here said that the cops recovered some 'objectionable' materials, including Popular Front of India (PFI) literature and flags, from Javed's house.

The administration also razed houses of some of the protestors in Kanpur and Saharanpur, sources here said. "We are trying to identify the protestors with the help of CCTV footage and will take stern action against them," the official said.

Read | UP 'protestors' thrashed in police custody, BJP lawmaker calls it 'return gift to rioters'

Sources said that more demolitions could be expected in the days to come in Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Hathras, Kanpur and other places that had witnessed large scale protests on Friday over the remarks on the Prophet.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed the officials to take stern action against the 'rioters'. The cops have slapped the Gangsters' Act against the protestors.

Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the demolition of the houses of the protestors and said that it was in violation of the law. ''The person who made the objectionable remarks is under security (Nupur Sharma) while those who protested peacefully are being punished,'' Akhilesh said.