Hindustan Times (Ranchi)

Complaint filed in Bihar court against Nupur Sharma, others

- Avinash Kumar avinash.kumar@htlive.com

IN THE PETITION, IT HAS BEEN ALLEGED THAT THE CONTROVERS­IAL STATEMENTS OF SHARMA, JINDAL, AND NARSINGHAN­AND COULD TRIGGER COMMUNAL VIOLENCE

PATNA: A complaint was filed at a court in Patna on Friday against suspended BJP spokespers­ons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal for their derogatory statements against Prophet Mohammad.

The petition was filed before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court by social activist M Raju Naiyer who has also been named as a co-accused religious leader Swami Yati Narsinghan­and whose similar incendiary statement has gone viral on the social media.

In the petition, filed through Naiyer’s advocate Manoj Singh, it has been alleged that the statements of Sharma, Jindal, and Narsinghan­and could trigger communal violence. The petition, which seeks action against the accused under several IPC sections, is likely to be taken up for hearing on June 21.

Meanwhile, protests erupted in several parts of Bihar after the Friday prayers against Sharma’s controvers­ial statement against Prophet Mohammad. In Bhagalpur, locals downed their shops in Tatarpur Bazaar and Shah Market as a mark of protest. The protestors, carrying placards, shouted slogans against Sharma and Jindal and even disrupted traffic.

Similarly, in Bhojpur, protestors took to the streets at Ara town after the Friday prayers against the controvers­ial remarks made against the Prophet. Protests and road blockade were also reported from Nawada, Muzaffarpu­r and Katihar, police said.

Sharma who made an objectiona­ble statement about the Prophet during a TV debate on the Gyanvapi controvers­y, and Jindal, who posted a derogatory remark on his Twitter handle, were suspended by the party after many Islamic countries raised objections to their utterances. Both have been booked by the police in places like Delhi and Mumbai.

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