Photo: Screengrab ANI
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh Police resorted to a lathi charge on Muslim protesters who pelted stones after Friday prayers in Bareilly.The protestors had gathered outside Ala Hazrat Dargah & IMC chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan’s house, holding “I Love Muhammad” placards amid the heavy security at both spots.IG Ajay Sahni said the cops were conducting a flag march when some miscreants came out onto the streets shouting slogans. “We are all on the streets. There is complete peace. There is no disorder of any kind… When the Force was conducting a flag march, some miscreants came out onto the streets shouting slogans… Their arrest will be ensured,” Sahni told ANI.Authorities in Bareilly carried out a flag march also on Thursday ahead of a protest call by cleric Maulana Tauqeer Raza, who has announced a sit-in at Islamia Ground on Friday over the “I Love Muhammad” poster row.District Magistrate Avinash Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya led the march, which involved police, Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and paramilitary forces. Officials had said the exercise was intended to send a strong message that any attempt to disturb peace would not be tolerated.“The district is under Section 163, so no protest can be held without permission,” DM Singh told reporters. The five-kilometre march passed through Bihari Pur police outpost, Kutubkhana, Dargah Ala Hazrat, Malookpur and the city vegetable market. Officials appealed to residents to maintain peace and abide by the law.Heavy deployment of police and paramilitary personnel was made, with SP City Manush Pareek, SP South Anshika Verma, SP North Mukesh Chandra Mishra, SP Crime, SP Traffic, City Magistrate Alankar Agnihotri, ADM, SDM, COs, women SOG members and around 50 inspectors taking part.Earlier, at a press conference, Tauqeer Raza pointed to alleged instances of derogatory remarks against the Prophet in different parts of the country, including Shahjahanpur.The cleric’s Friday protest call came after the controversy over “I Love Muhammad” posters, which began in Kanpur during a Barawafat procession and drew objections from right-wing Hindu groups over a “deviation from tradition.” FIRs were filed, and the row spread to several districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Bareilly, as well as to Uttarakhand and Karnataka, triggering protests, poster removals and police crackdowns.Raza warned that the protest would proceed “at any cost.”
