Violence in Bareilly: Internet suspended and security tightened before Friday prayers amid ‘I Love Muhammad’ row

The government has ordered the shutdown of internet services in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly while the top Muslim cleric asked people of the community to return home after Friday prayers, October 3, amid the ongoing ‘I love Mohammed’ controversy in the region.

Security has also been stepped up with a large police deployment as the protests mark their first week today.

The government suspended mobile internet, broadband and SMS services from October 2 at 3 p.m. to October 4 at 3 p.m., according to the Interior Ministry’s notification, the news agency reported. PTI.

Home Minister Gaurav Dayal said social media platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook, among others, could be misused to incite communal violence and spread rumours.

All services, including mobile internet, SMS, data servers, including broadband connections, will remain suspended, according to the order.

“Return home in peace,” urges Muslim cleric

The top cleric of the Ala Hazrat Dargah area, Maulana Ahsan Razan Khan, called on all Muslim residents to return home after Friday prayers today to “maintain peace”.

“Every Muslim, after offering Friday prayers, should return home. Do not pay attention to rumors. Maintain peace,” Khan was quoted as saying by PTI.

The appeal was launched on Thursday October 2 to prevent further violence in the city.

On September 26, violence broke out when around 2,000 people gathered outside a mosque in the Kotwali area to protest the suspension of proposed “I Love Muhammad” protests called by Tauqeer Raza Khan.

Stone pelting was reported and police resorted to lathi charges.

At least 81 people were arrested in this case on Wednesday October 1, according to the news agency.

Congress and PS leaders under house arrest

Congress MP Imran Masood and Samajwadi Party MP Shahnavaz Khan were stopped by police from traveling to Bareilly on October 1.

A police team had been guarding their homes since the night of September 30, and no official statement was made to explain the reason for this action.

Masood addressed reporters at his residence and said, “We follow Gandhian ideology. We were supposed to leave at 6:50 am for Bareilly to meet the DIG and ADG and return at 1:30 pm. But the government is using such tactics to hide its failures.

“It is the government and the police who have made the situation abnormal. Muslims are selectively targeted. One set of laws applies to us, another to others,” he added, while responding to a question about whether their visit could have made the situation worse, according to PTI.

“I love Mohammad” protests in UP

The controversy came to light on September 9, when the Kanpur police filed an FIR against 24 individuals for allegedly putting up hoardings reading “I Love Mohammad” on a public road on September 4 during a Barawafat procession, as reported by the newspaper. PTI. The FIR named nine people, while 15 were unidentified.

The move had drawn objections from Hindu organizations, alleging a “new trend” of deliberately provoking emotions. The matter gained momentum after AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi started claiming that it was not a crime to say “I love Mohammad”.