NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing row over controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammed, Massive protests broke out across the country including in Delhi, Punjab, Hyderabad, Kolkata and parts of Uttar Pradesh after Friday prayers over suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's and her former colleague Naveen Kumar Jindal.
While the protests in Delhi erupted outside the Jama Masjid after the Friday prayers, people also gathered in UP’s Saharanpur to condemn the comments made by Sharma during a TV debate. “Almost 1,500 people had gathered in Jama Masjid for Friday prayers.
Hundreds of protesters also took to the streets and shop closed down in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, Moradabad and Prayagraj, and other cities.
In other cities of the state like Lucknow, Kanpur and Firozabad, the police tightened security and took out marches. Kanpur had seen clashes last week over the controversy that left around 40 people injured.
In West Bengal, a large number of people gathered in protest at Park Circus in Kolkata and in Howrah. On Thursday, protesters had blocked the National Highway connecting Howrah and the capital Kolkata.
Demonstrations were also taken out in Kolkata's Park Circus area, near the Charminar in Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Navi Mumbai and several areas in Srinagar where large numbers of people gathered, marched, and raised slogans.
In Jharkhand's capital Ranchi, several policemen were injured while controlling an irate mob near a temple. The police had to fire in the air in to disperse the crowd.