Tensions have once again gripped Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly. On Friday, internet services remained suspended in the UP city and security personnel has been deployed ahead of Friday prayers in mosques this evening.
This move comes after the city witnessed violent clashes last week after the cancellation of the demonstration due to the ‘I Love Muhammad’ row.
As the city reels in the aftermath of these clashes, tensions caused by the ‘I Love Muhammad’ row continue to linger in the city.
Why is Bareilly tense?
Last week, over 2,000 protestors clashed with police outside a mosque after Friday prayers. These protests subsequently led to the arrest of 81 people.
Maulana Tauqeer Raza, a cleric and Ittehad-e-Millat Council chief, who was later arrested by police, allegedly called for a protest in support of the ‘I Love Muhammad’ poster. However, the cleric made a last-minute announcement that the demonstration had been called off, resulting in unrest.
Due to the last-minute announcement, angry protestors gathered around Raza’s residence and a local nearby mosque with banners reading ‘I love Muhammad’.
As police resorted to lathi charge and tear gas to disperse the crowd, some protestors began pelting stones, HT reported earlier.
“Law enforcement authorities had been engaging with people, urging them to conduct prayers peacefully. But, a group of agitators suddenly emerged, engaging in violent acts, including stone-pelting and firing. Comprehensive video and photographic evidence of the incident was captured,” Bareilly’s DIG AK Sahni told reporters.
What is the ‘I Love Muhammad’ row?
The row dates back to September 9, when an FIR was filed against 24 people for allegedly installing boards with “I Love Muhammad” written on them on during a Barawafat procession on September 4.
Hindu groups and organisations in the area objected to the posters and called it a “deliberate
The initial call for the protest made by Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan called for a procession to the district magistrate’s house to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which penned their dissatisfaction with the FIR against the poster
