- Police in New Delhi have filed a charge against a spokesperson for “inciting people on divisive lines”.
- Many Muslim-majority countries have criticised India after Nupur Sharma made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
- The BJP has suspended Sharma and ordered its representatives to speak more responsibly.
NEW DELHI: Police in New Delhi announced on Thursday that they had filed a charge against a suspended spokesperson for India’s ruling party for “inciting people on divisive lines” on social media, just days after her statements about Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) sparked diplomatic retaliation.
Many Muslim-majority countries have criticised India after Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) during a recent tense television debate.
The BJP has suspended Sharma and ordered its representatives to speak more responsibly in public as calls for a boycott of Indian products in Gulf countries have intensified.
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On the basis of “social media analysis against individuals attempting to disrupt public peace & instigating people on divisive lines,” Delhi Police said they had filed two preliminary complaints, known as first information reports.
“One is against Ms Nupur Sharma, and the other is against various social media entities,” the department stated on Twitter, without elaborating on the posts that sparked the complaint or the entities involved.
“As notices are sent to social media intermediaries for details of people behind these accounts/entities, #DelhiPolice begs to everyone to refrain from posting anything that may disrupt social and communal peace,” reads the statement.
The filing of a complaint is the first step in any police investigation in India, and it is usually followed by questioning of the suspect.
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