The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested 237 people in the north Indian state for their alleged involvement in the protests against the former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
Among those arrested, 68 were held in Prayagraj and 50 in Hathras, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said in a statement on Saturday. He said 55 people were arrested in Saharanpur, 28 in Ambedkar Nagar, 25 in Moradabad, eight in Firozabad, and three in237 Aligarh.
The Government has also ordered the demolition of the house of those accused of violence in Saharanpur. The videos of bulldozers were shared by the police at the residences of accused Muzammil and Abdul Waqir, with bulldozers razing gates and outer walls of their houses which the police claimed were illegal constructions.
“A joint team of Saharanpur admin, development authority, magistracy, revenue team, municipal corporation & police was made to take action on illegal properties of accused in yesterday’s incident,” Saharanpur SSP Akash Tomar was quoted telling ANI.
In addition, a newly-constructed building located in Swaroopnagar locality of Kanpur, 3 km away from where the violence took place and owned by one Mohammad Ishtiyaq, who is said to be a close relative of prime accused Zafar Hayat Hashmi was also demolished.