Indian Muslims erupted in protests in several parts of the country after the Friday prayers demanding arrest of two sacked Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons for their insulting comments about Prophet Muhammad. Asian News International reported that detentions were made in several places, including Jama Masjid and Jamia Milliyya Islamiyya in the capital city of New Delhi where protesters demanded strong action against the now sacked BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. Around 30 people from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen were detained in Delhi and were put under three-day judicial custody.

Stone pelting, violence and torching of vehicles and police were reported in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab and West Bengal. In Uttar Pradesh, more than one hundred people were arrested as Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath gave instructions to take stern action against participants in “illegal protests” and protesters clashed with the security officials. In West Bengal, large number of people came out and blockaded roads in Howra and several other places.

In Ranchi, capital of northern Indian state of Jharkhand, the protest turned violent and stone pelting, police firing into the sky and torching of vehicles were reported. In Mumbai city of Maharashtra state massive protestswere reported demanding exemplary action against Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. The derogatory remarks of the two BJP spokespeople sparked ire across the Muslim world, and drew official protest notes from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt and Iran. (KUNA)