UP CM media advisor posted photo of bulldozer after violent clashes over Prophet row

|HT|

A day after several UP cities witnessed violent clashes over former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's controversial comment on the Prophet, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's media advisor Mrityunjay Kumar on Saturday posted a veiled warning: 'Remember, every Friday is followed by a Saturday'. With a photo of a bulldozer, the cryptic tweet implied stern action against agitators involving bulldozers. Haryana BJP IT in-charge Arun Yadav on Friday tweeted, "Now Friday being stone day, Saturday should be declared as bulldozer day."

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday held a review meeting with the team of top state bureaucrats. "Toughest of action will be taken against all those anti-social elements who participated in the anarchist attempts to vitiate atmosphere in various cities of the state (on Friday). Such people have no place in civilised society. Take care that no innocent is harassed, but ensure not a single guilty escapes," the statement said.

Police arrested over 130 people from six districts of the state in connection with Friday's violence in Prayagraj, Saharanpur, Bijnor, Moradabad, Rampur and Lucknow.

Friday's protests were not exclusive to Uttar Pradesh as several parts of the country including Delhi, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Howrah, witnessed massive protests after Friday prayers. On June 3, however, Kanpur saw violence in connection with the same issue of Nupur Sharma's comments on Prophet Muhammad. As the bulldozer warning came, it was also reported that the properties of Zafar Hayat Hashmi, one of the main accused of Kanpur violence, were being razed.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)