A protest over the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad by suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma turned violent in Jharkhand's Ranchi on Friday. Vehicles were torched and vandalised, stone-pelting took place and several people including policemen sustained injuries.
Some policemen were injured while trying to control an irate mob near Hanuman Temple, situated on Ranchi's Main Road, after protests erupted with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of Nupur Sharma, police said.
Police fired in air besides resorted to lathi-charge to control the mob which spilled out on the road after Friday prayers and pelted stones and shouted slogans.
"Few policemen have been injured. We are looking into the situation. We are reinforcing deployment," a senior police official told news agency PTI.
DIG Ranchi Anish Gupta said the situation is tense but it is under control. "We are making all efforts from our end. Heavy security deployment done. Senior officials are also present at the spot. We are making all efforts to see that the crowd is dispersed from here," he added.
According to police officials, the protest have been continuing since morning and picked up tempo post-Friday prayers. Many shops and establishments kept their shutters down in protest against the remarks.
"More than 1,100 shops in the market were shut since morning in protest against remarks of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. We demand their immediate arrest," New Daily Market Traders Welfare Association President Haji Md Hasim told PTI.
Hasim said they wanted a peaceful procession but police didn't give permission. "So we are protesting peacefully outside our shops here," he said.
Meanwhile, massive protests erupted in several parts of the country today including Delhi, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh over remarks by suspended Sharma and her former colleague Naveen Jindal that have triggered an international row.
(With PTI inputs)
