Two protestors were shot dead by the Indian police in the city of Ranchi, during one of many protests held across the country against the blasphemous remarks made by two officials of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) last week.
During a televised debate last week, BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma had made some disrespectful remarks about the Prophet (PBUH) and his wife Aisha, which were heavily criticized by social media users.
Naveen Jindal on the other hand had had tweeted out the blasphemous content, in a tweet that has since been deleted. Both officials have been removed from their positions by the BJP.
Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cairo and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have widely condemned the statement made by the BJP officials.
Muslims in numerous Indian cities took to the streets to raise their voice against the offensive and derogatory remarks made about the Holy Prophet (PBUH). In the city of Ranchi, the rally culminated in the police opening fire on the protesters, as per the AFP.
“Police were forced to open fire to disperse protesters [...] resulting in the death of two,” a police officer in Ranchi told AFP.
Police officials said that the crowd had allegedly defied orders and moved the protest from the mosque to a nearby market, at which point the police tried to get the protesters to disperse with a baton charge. They claimed that the crowd had started throwing stones and glass bottles at the police.
A local resident told AFP that the internet in the city had been shut down on the day of the protest, and the authorities had imposed a curfew as well.
Meanwhile, the police arrested 136 protestors in Uttar Pradesh, while internet was shut down in Kolkata after a mob of protesters stormed the police station.
During a televised debate last week, BJP Spokesperson Nupur Sharma had made some disrespectful remarks about the Prophet (PBUH) and his wife Aisha, which were heavily criticized by social media users.
Naveen Jindal on the other hand had had tweeted out the blasphemous content, in a tweet that has since been deleted. Both officials have been removed from their positions by the BJP.
Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Cairo and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have widely condemned the statement made by the BJP officials.
Muslims in numerous Indian cities took to the streets to raise their voice against the offensive and derogatory remarks made about the Holy Prophet (PBUH). In the city of Ranchi, the rally culminated in the police opening fire on the protesters, as per the AFP.
“Police were forced to open fire to disperse protesters [...] resulting in the death of two,” a police officer in Ranchi told AFP.
Police officials said that the crowd had allegedly defied orders and moved the protest from the mosque to a nearby market, at which point the police tried to get the protesters to disperse with a baton charge. They claimed that the crowd had started throwing stones and glass bottles at the police.
A local resident told AFP that the internet in the city had been shut down on the day of the protest, and the authorities had imposed a curfew as well.
Meanwhile, the police arrested 136 protestors in Uttar Pradesh, while internet was shut down in Kolkata after a mob of protesters stormed the police station.