Tension flared in Kanpur after Hindu organisations raised objections to boards inscribed with ‘I Love Mohammad’ that were put up as part of Barawafat celebrations, and police registered an FIR against more than two dozen members of the Muslim community on charges of deliberate provocation and disturbing communal harmony.
The FIR, lodged on September 9 under the Rawatpur police station limits, named nine individuals and included 15 unidentified persons, as police alleged that they had installed boards and erected a tent on a public road in Syed Nagar during the festival.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Dinesh Tripathi said Hindu groups termed the move a “new trend” and described it as a “deliberate provocation,” while officials maintained that the boards and tents posed a risk to law and order.
Police said the location where the boards were placed was close to a gate through which the Ram Navami procession usually passes, and members of the Muslim community had resisted attempts to remove them.
“We tried to persuade them to remove the boards and tents, as no new trend on public roads can be permitted, and their actions posed a potential threat to law and order. No one will be spared,” Tripathi said.
Muslim clerics were brought in to mediate after the objections, but police said the initial efforts failed, and later the authorities had to intervene directly to remove the boards and tent in order to restore peace.
On the complaint of Sub-Inspector Pankaj Sharma, the case was registered under charges of disturbing communal harmony and unlawful assembly, and those named in the FIR include Sharafat Hussain, Babu Ali, Mohammad Siraj, Rahman, Ikram Ahmed, Iqbal, Bunty, Kunnu ‘Kabadi,’ and Sahnoor Alam, along with two vehicle drivers.
Officials said that CCTV footage confirmed the involvement of the accused, and Station House Officer K K Mishra asserted that the investigation pointed towards deliberate intent. “This was a planned attempt to disrupt peace, and searches are on to arrest the absconding accused,” he said.