Insult on Prophet row: Delhi Police arrest two Juma Masjid protesters

New Delhi: After the Juma Masjid protests on insult on Prophet row, the Delhi Police has arrested two people in connection with the Friday protests after prayers. The two were charged under section 153A of IPC, Asian News International reported.

IPC 153A was charged for alleged promotion of enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Central district, Shweta Chauhan, said that the police expected something could happen after the Friday Namaz and stated that they pre-planned the gathering, which was evident from them coming out of the mosque after namaz with banners and placards.

The DCP said that they are investigating the matter and the messages circulated on WhatsApp, while primary investigation has identified 4-5 locals, though most of the crowd were not locals.

There were almost 300 people gathered before the mosque and started protesting over the inflammatory remarks by Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, the DCP told ANI.

The insult-on-prophet row started after suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma made comments against Prophet Muhammed during a TV debate, while suspended BJP Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal made similar remarks on Twitter.

After protests rose inside India, it was picked by Arab countries and spread globally. Delhi Police booked Nupur Sharma, Naveen Kumar Jindal (both got suspended from BJP later), AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi and controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand. Police also named journalist Saba Naqvi was also named in an FIR.