‘I Love Muhammed’ row: Police, locals clash outside Bareilly mosque

An announcement postponing a proposed demonstration in support of the ‘I Love Muhammad’ campaign by Maulana Tauqeer Raza, local cleric and chief of Ittehad-e-Millat Council, led to a clash between a large crowd and police outside a mosque in Bareilly on Friday.

Police said large crowds holding ‘I Love Muhammad’ posters gathered outside the cleric’s residence and near the mosque, both in the Kotwali area and located at a short distance from each other, after Friday prayers, with people expressing their anger over the suspension of the demonstration.

Sources said Raza made a last-minute announcement to call off the demonstration, saying the authorities did not grant permission for it.

On Thursday, the cleric had warned that the demonstration would go ahead “at any cost”.

Police attempted to disperse the crowd which gathered outside the mosque, but the angry protesters began pelting stones, prompting the police to use force.

Visuals on social media and news channels showed locals clashing with the police, armed with batons, even as senior officers, including DIG Ajay Kumar Sahni, SSP Anurag Arya and DM Avinash Singh, reached the Kotwali area to diffuse the situation.

“The situation is under control now. No untoward incident has been reported. We are appealing to people to maintain peace and harmony,” DM Singh told reporters.

Heavy security has been deployed at both locations, officials said.

The controversy dates back to September 9 when police in Kanpur filed an FIR against nine named and 15 unidentified persons for allegedly installing boards with ‘I Love Muhammad’ written on them on a public road in Kanpur during a Barawafat procession on September 4.

The move triggered objections from Hindu organisations, which termed it a “new trend” and alleged it was a deliberate provocation. The row gained wider attention after AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi asserted that saying ‘I Love Muhammad’ was not a crime.

The controversy soon spread across several Uttar Pradesh districts, including Bareilly, and to states like Uttarakhand and Karnataka, sparkling protests and police crackdowns.