Amid the riots that broke out across the country on Friday, two people died in Ranchi—one in the aftermath of a bullet injury. The police had fired in the air to disperse a crowd pelting stones, as protests erupted in several towns and cities across the country on Friday against derogatory references to the Prophet made by former BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal.
Prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of Ranchi city. The incident occurred after protests erupted with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma for her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad. Internet services have been snapped in Ranchi from 7pm on Friday to 6am on Saturday.
Authorities in Jammu clamped curfew in few areas and parts of the Kashmir Valley observed a shutdown while prohibitory orders were imposed in parts of Ranchi as slogan shouting protesters carrying placards demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma, a former BJP spokesperson, and Naveen Jindal, a former head of the Delhi BJP's media unit.
Most of the protests including at the historic Jama Masjid in Delhi broke out after the Friday prayers and several arrests were also made by the police.
Hundreds of protesters massed outside Jama Masjid and some of them gathered on the steps of the mosque. However, Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, distanced himself from the protests saying "nobody knows who the protesters were" and demanded action against such people. Senior police officials said the protests were held peacefully and lasted for 15 to 20 minutes.
In Uttar Pradesh, stones were pelted at policemen in Prayagraj and Saharanpur during the protests which were also witnessed in Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur and Lucknow. In Prayagraj, some motorcycles and carts were set on fire and an attempt made to set ablaze a police vehicle. Police used tear gas and lathis to disperse mobs and peace was later restored, the official said, adding that one policeman was hurt in Prayagraj. In Saharanpur, protesters demanded death sentence for Nupur Sharma.
