Protests against remarks on Prophet in several cities across nation; curfew clamped in part of Ranchi

Even as protests were held in several parts of the country on Friday against controversial remarks made by BJP leaders on Prophet Mohammad, curfew was clamped in some parts of Ranchi where police fired in the air and lathi-charged a mob pelting stones at them, leaving several policemen injured.

As per Ranchi police, hundreds of protesters were demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma after the Friday prayers.

"Few policemen have been injured. We are looking into the situation. We are reinforcing deployment," a police official was quoted as saying.

A large crowd of people gathered on Ranchi's Main Road shouting slogans against Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal, former head of the Delhi BJP's media unit.

Heavy security deployment was made to manage the situation and avoid any untoward incident.

According to police officials, the protest were continuing since morning and picked up tempo post-Friday prayers. Many shops and establishments kept their shutters down in protest against the remarks.

Hundreds of protesters also took to the streets and shops closed in parts of Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, Moradabad and Prayagraj and a few other cities. In 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.

Demonstrations were also taken out in Kolkata's Park Circus area, neighbouring Howrah, 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 Delhi too, demonstrations took place outside the Jama Masjid after the Friday prayers. The protesters demanded the arrest of Nupur Sharma and dispersed after about an hour.