Days after Kanpur violence, BJP leader arrested for Prophet comments

Violence had erupted in parts of Kanpur after Friday prayers

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ITDC NEWS R In the aftermath of the Kanpur violence, the Uttar Pradesh Police arrested former district secretary of the BJP Yuva Morcha, Harshit Srivastava, for posting inflammatory content on social media platforms, ADGP (Law and Order). The total arrests are currently at 51. Around 10 more suspects have been detained for questioning.

This comes on the back of the ruling party initiating disciplinary actions against spokesperson Nupur Sharma and Delhi media chief Naveen Jindal on the back of international pressure following comments against Prophet Mohammad.

Violence had erupted in parts of Kanpur after Friday prayers as members of two communities indulged in brick-batting and hurled bombs over attempts to shut shops in protest against "insulting" comments by Nupur Sharma during a TV debate.

The Kotwali police on Tuesday lodged another FIR against people behind two Facebook accounts and three Twitter handles for spreading "fake and inflammatory content" about the June 3 violence, pushing the number of such users booked so far to 13, Pramod Kumar said.

The FIR has been registered against the operators of the Twitter handles 'Duggalsahab15', 'shivaisrael' and 'AkhandBharat', and two Facebook account holders Abu Zaid and Kaushal Patel, the DCP said. The district administration has sealed a petrol pump situated nearby the Deputy Padav crossing after a CCTV footage showed people taking fuel in bottles from the filling station ahead of the Friday clashes.