Image Courtesy: indiatoday.in
Arrests of protesters having agitated in the June 10, 2022 protests continue to grow. By June 13, the news reports talked of more arrests in Uttarakhand and Karnataka. Meanwhile, more people are being booked for the Friday protests.
According to the Hindustan Times on Monday, the Uttarakhand police arrested 12 people in connection with the Friday protests that flared across India. On that day, Muslims condemned suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her derogatory remarks about Prophet Mohammad and Islam. They demanded her immediate arrest for insulting the community during a Times Now debate on May 26.
According to recent reports Maharashtra police also booked the debate anchor Navika Kumar on June 13 for allegedly “maliciously intending to outrage religious feelings”. However, Muslims still demand Sharma’s immediate arrest along with that of recently-expelled BJP leader Naveen Kumar Jindal.
Protesters in Rudrapur and Jaspur of Udham Singh Nagar and Bhagwanpur of Haridwar districts were arrested for participating in these “illegal and unauthorised” protests. Further on June 11, three persons were arrested in Karnataka’s Belagavi for hanging Sharma’s effigy from cable wires. According to Siasat Daily, these individuals are Mahmad Soheb, Aman Mokashi, Arbaj Mokash. Further, two arrests were made in Delhi on June 12, reported the Indian Express.
These 17 arrests now add to the already over-400 arrests made across India over the weekend. Particularly in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, 92 people were arrested for charges ranging from rioting and hurting religious sentiments to sections under the Explosive Substances Act. Overall, at least 325 arrests were made in Uttar Pradesh, 100 arrests in West Bengal, and 25 FIRs were filed against thousands in Jharkhand.
Aside from arrests, more people are being booked for the Friday protests. On Tuesday, the Indian Express reported that 10 people were booked in Jamalpur region of Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The police charged them for allegedly violating Section 144 and 188 dealing with unlawful assembly and disobeying orders from a public servant.
The city police on Sunday detained 48 persons in Juhapura locality in Vejalpur to keep them from taking out a protest rally against Sharma. Meanwhile, the cyber-crime cell of Ahmedabad Police on Sunday arrested Rakhial resident Irshad Ansari, 36 under sections of the Information Technology Amendment Act for allegedly uploading multiple instigating posts against Sharma on social media.
By Monday, the number of arrests only grew with five men in Surat released on bail after a one-day police remand. The accused allegedly stuck posters of Sharma on the road and circulated videos of the same. Other than these two cities, protests also broke out in Kalupur, Khadia, Shahpur, Mirzapur. Like in other cities on Friday, shops and markets were shut at Teen Darwaza, Kalupur and Relief Road. Police identified demonstrators using video footage and said the people did not have permission for such a protest.
In Maharashtra, over 100 demonstrators were booked in Aurangabad, said Newsclick. Muslims gathered near the Divisional Commissioner’s office in the Delhi gate area of Aurangabad on Friday. People were charged for unlawful assembly and other relevant provisions of the IPC and Motor Vehicles Act against the protestors.
Near simultaneous with these arrests come the demolitions of various Muslim activists in UP. Already Prayagraj activist Javed Mohammad’s house was destroyed after authorities claimed the property was on encroached land.
This tactic of targeting communities in mass protests was first employed in 2019 when students across India rose in protest of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In 2022, these demolition attacks spread to Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Assam.
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