Patna: A youth from Bihar's Sitamarhi district has alleged that he was stabbed for updating his social media status with a picture of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma whose controversial remarks against Prophet Muhammad sparked a massive row.
23-year-old Ankit Jha, who is undergoing treatment at a local nursing home in Darbhanga, has claimed that someone stabbed him several times in the back when he was watching a video of Nupur Sharma that he had also uploaded as his WhatsApp status. He was then rushed to a hospital.
The next day, the victim submitted a written complaint mentioning four names. Two of the main accused were arrested and sent to jail.
The police, however, had initially denied any such link and on the basis of local input said that the man was stabbed on the evening of July 15 after some argument while a group of men were under the influence of some "local tobacco".
"The incident of stabbing took place on the 15th evening under the Nanpur police station after a quarrel between three to four people over cigarette smoke at a Pan shop. Yesterday afternoon, he has given a statement in the news media linking it to the Nupur Sharma incident. It is being investigated," Har Kishore Rai, Superintendent of Police, Sitamarhi, said after a fresh FIR was lodged on the basis of Ankit Jha's allegation.
Locals have also said all the people involved are from nearby villages and were known to each other. The incident took place while they were smoking together at a roadside pan shop, they said.
Nupur Sharma had triggered a massive diplomatic backlash recently with her objectionable remarks on Prophet Muhammad and Islam. Yesterday, citing "renewed" threats after the Supreme Court's "unexpected and strong criticism" of her, she again approached the court to halt her possible arrest and club nine cases filed across India over her comments.
Her fresh plea will be heard tomorrow by the same bench - Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Surya Kant - that had criticised her on July 1.