Indian police shot dead two protesters and arrested more than 130 during street rallies sparked by a then-ruling party official’s remarks about the Prophet Mohammed, authorities told reporters yesterday.
Anger has engulfed the Islamic world since last week, when a spokeswoman for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party commented on the relationship between the prophet and his youngest wife on a TV debate show.
Muslims took to the streets after Friday prayers in huge numbers across India and neighboring countries to condemn the remarks, with police firing on a crowd in the eastern city of Ranchi.
Photo: AP
“Police were forced to open fire to disperse protesters ... resulting in the death of two,” a Ranchi police officer said.
Officers said the crowd had defied their orders not to march from a mosque to a market and thrown bottles and stones when police attempted to disperse the rally with a baton charge.
Authorities cut Internet connections in the city and imposed a curfew, with local resident Shabnam Ara yesterday telling reporters that the atmosphere remained tense.
“We are praying for peace and harmony,” she said.
Police in Uttar Pradesh fired tear gas to disperse at least one rally after several demonstrations were staged across the northern state. Most protests ended peacefully, but demonstrators in some cities threw stones at police and injured at least one officer, said Avanish Awasthi, a senior government secretary in the state.
Senior Uttar Pradesh police officer Prashant Kumar said up to “136 protesting miscreants” had been arrested from six districts across the state.
Cities across India saw sizeable demonstrations on Friday, with some crowds burning effigies of Nupur Sharma, the then-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokeswoman whose comments set off the furor.
Sharma’s remarks have embroiled India in a diplomatic storm, with the governments of nearly 20 countries calling in their Indian envoys for an explanation. The BJP has gone into damage control, suspending the official from its ranks and issuing a statement in which the party insisted it respected all religions.
Friday saw the biggest street rallies yet in response to the furor, with police estimating more than 100,000 people mobilized across Bangladesh after midday prayers.
Another 5,000 people took to the streets in the Pakistani city of Lahore at the behest of a religious party, calling on their government to take stronger action against India over the comments.
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