With Uttar Pradesh Police already on alert and having deployed heavy police force around mosques apprehending trouble during Friday prayers, thousands and thousands of members of the minority community still tried to disturb communal harmony by raising slogans and staging protests in over a dozen districts.
In Prayagraj, the situation turned violent after protesters pelted stones and hurled crude bombs and damaged several vehicles of the police, including of ADG Prayagraj Zone. Several persons and police officials were injured and a heavy police force was rushed to defuse the situation. The protesters were demanding the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party’s suspended spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her alleged objectionable comments against Prophet Mohammed.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reacted strongly to the news of efforts to disturb communal harmony. He directed the officials to deal with the trouble-makers with a tough hand.
On Thursday also, Yogi Adityanath had asked the officials to tighten the security around mosques in view of the Friday prayers. “No one should have any kind of problem. Make elaborate security arrangements. Those who play with law and order should be dealt with strictly,” he directed.
A senior official of the Uttar Pradesh Police headquarters in Lucknow said on Friday that there were reports of sloganeering after prayers from Saharanpur, Moradabad, Rampur, Bareilly and Lucknow districts. He said while people raised slogans on the streets after Friday prayers in Saharanpur, Bareilly, Moradabad and Rampur, slogans were raised briefly inside the Tile Wali Masjid in Chowk area of Lucknow.
In Saharanpur and Deoband, a large number of Muslims took to the streets and started protesting. However, the police dispersed them. The police also had to resort to lathi-charge in Deoband.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said that there was information about stone pelting in Prayagraj and it was being investigated. He claimed that Friday prayers were held peacefully at most places in the state.
Significantly, after the last Friday prayers, violence had erupted in parts of Kanpur Nagar as members of a community protested against suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma’s "derogatory" remarks on Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate.