Bareilly: An effigy of controversial Hindu priest Yati Narsinghanand was burned by a group of protestors here, leading to the filing of an FIR against 42 individuals. Two of the accused have been arrested, and the police are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the remaining participants involved in the protest, reports The Hindu.
The demonstration, which took place on Monday, was in response to inflammatory remarks made by Narsinghanand, reportedly directed against Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Protestors gathered at Eent Pajaya crossing, where they burned the effigy and clashed with law enforcement. Police had to use mild force to disperse the crowd and detained two individuals at the scene.
Bareilly SP (City) Manush Parik confirmed that an FIR had been filed against the protestors under Sections 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant) and 285 (danger or obstruction in public way) of the IPC. The FIR named two individuals, Samir and Firdous, along with 40 unidentified people.
Tensions escalated later in the evening as a crowd gathered outside the local police station, demanding the release of those detained. Additional police forces were called to the station, and after failed attempts to calm the crowd, the police dispersed the gathering.
Police have vowed to take strict action against all those involved in the incident.
