Violent protests in Uttar Pradesh over remarks on Prophet Mohammed; dozens held

Several Muslims were arrested from across the state after they took to the streets in large numbers, and turned violent, in several towns in Uttar Pradesh after Friday prayers. They were protesting the objectionable remarks on Prophet Mohammed by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

The police had to use force to disperse the crowd once it resorted to stone-pelting and sloganeering.

According to police sources, several police personnel, including senior officers, were injured in the stone-pelting, even as protestors torched a PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) truck and a motorcycle, and tried to forcibly close business in several places.

Protests were reported from Prayagraj, Lucknow, Saharanpur, Deoband, Firozabad, Hathras, and Moradabad, among a few others, sources said. The protests started soon after the Friday prayers, as slogan-shouting Muslims tried to burn effigy of Nupur Sharma and demanded her immediate arrest.

Read | Protests break out in several states over BJP leaders' remarks on Prophet Mohammed

The mob torched a PAC truck at Atala area in Prayagraj and threw stones as a way of protest. Sources said that the police fired rubber bullets to disperse the protestors, and that Additional Director General of Police Prem Prakash was injured in the stone-pelting.

Large-scale protests were also reported from Deoband, the home to the prestigious Islamic seminary Darul Uloom, sources said. In Hathras, protestors tried to burn Nupur Sharma’s effigy.

Shops and business establishment remained closed in Muslim-dominated localities across the state. Around 50 people were arrested or detained in Saharanpur, Firozabad, Prayagraj and other places.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath sought a report from the home department regarding the violent protests; he also directed the police to identify the protestors and take stern action against them.

The state government had expected some protests on Friday and had therefore deployed security personnel in communally sensitive regions. “We are trying to identify the trouble mongers...they will be sternly dealt with,” said a senior police official here.