Bhiwandi police detain Muslim boy over derogatory remark on Prophet, supporting Nupur Sharma

19-year-old Muslim man Saad Ansari from the Kesharbaag area of Bhiwandi was arrested by the Nizampura police station in Bhiwandi on Sunday from his house for posting derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad on social media and showing support to the suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her comments on Prophet Muhammad.

In his social media post, the man praised Nupur Sharma, whom the BJP suspended on June 5 over her alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, calling her a “brave lady”.

His post created a rift in the society where he lived and a tense-like situation was created in Bhiwandi after the post went viral on social media.

While people across the country are protesting against Nupur Sharma's statement on Prophet Mohammad, the Bhiwandi boy is writing comments in support of Nupur Sharma.

Senior police inspector of Nizampura police station NP Pawar said, "A case has been registered against the youth following a growing demand from the mob who gathered outside his house. We have arrested Saad Ansari and started investigating the case. Also due to the tense situation in the area, police security has been beefed up. Some members of the Muslim community entered the house of the young man and asked him to apologize. The young man did apologise to the crowd but still was slapped by some people in the crowd."

Pawar further added, "A man named Faraj Fazal Bahauddin alias Baba (44), lodged a complaint against accused Saad Ashfaq Ansari at Bhiwandi City police station on Sunday after which a case was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 153 (A) (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language etc and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) and the accused has been arrested."