By Aiswarya Raj
The row over ‘I Love Mohammad’ posters, which began in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, found an echo in Uttarakhand after police arrested and detained several people who protested with similar posters. Police also said they are running videos of the protest through facial recognition software to trace the other participants.
The controversy originated last week when an FIR was lodged by the Kanpur police over the poster, which was put up as part of decorations for the annual Barawafat procession to commemorate the birth of Prophet Mohammad.
Protests against the Kanpur FIR were witnessed over the weekend at several districts in UP, including Kaushambi, Pilibhit, Bareilly, Bhadohi, Lucknow, Unnao, and Kanpur.
A similar protest at Udham Singh Nagar’s Kashipur in Uttarakhand on Sunday night turned violent, following which police made a spate of arrests and the district administration demolished several structures, alleging encroachment.
Police claim the protest was taken out without permission. According to the district’s Senior Superintendent of Police, Manikant Mishra, the police tried to control the protesters, but the crowd attacked the police and vandalised their vehicles. “Seven people have been arrested and ten detained. The mastermind, Nadeem Akhtar, is being questioned to find the source of the activities that culminated in violence,” said the SSP.
The local police said they are tracing around 500 participants who were part of the rally by visiting their homes.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.