By Prithviraj Singh
ttarakhand police removed the posters of ‘I Love Muhammad’ from a mosque at Lalkuan in Nainital following complaints from right-wing organisations. According to the police, posters could have led to communal disharmony in the region.
The incident took place on Wednesday late evening when the members of right-wing organisations, mainly Vishwa Hindu Parishad(VHP) and Bajarang Dal in Lalkuan area, lodged a complaint that posters of “I love Muhammad” were put on the walls of Roshan Mosque. The right-wing activists alleged that posters may disturb peace and communal harmony in the region. They expressed displeasure and demanded that the police take action to prevent disturbance of peace in the area.
Following the complaint, the police swung into action and had the poster removed from the mosque walls, claiming the step was taken to maintain peace and order in the town.
Earlier, the ‘I Love Muhammad’ posters displayed in the mosque drew strong criticism from the right-wing organisations. Led by senior VHP functionaries Subhash Nagar and Manoj Gupta, they alleged that a deliberate move was being made by some unscrupulous elements to disturb the peace in the town. Nagar and Gupta stated that these posters were provocative and must be taken down from the mosques. VHP activists marched towards Lalkuan Police Station and lodged a formal complaint against the posters in the mosque.
Following the complaint, a police team led by senior Sub-Inspector Deepak Bisht reached the mosque and called upon the priest, asking him the remove the controversial posters. Police managed to persuade the mosque priests, who later removed the posters themselves.
SSI Deepak Bisht confirmed that the police team had gone to the mosque to meet the priest, and the poster was taken down after that. Bisht stated that following objections raised against the posters of ‘I Love Muhammad’ and protest by some people, “Lalkuan police ensured that posters were taken down and the situation was brought under control, as this would have led to law and order problem in the area. Peace and order in the town will not be allowed to be challenged under any circumstances.”
This story was originally published in thestatesman.com. Read the full story here.
