Prophet remark row: Bulldozers raze houses of violence accused in UP

Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur shared videos of municipal teams out with bulldozers under a heavy police presence demolishing parts of the homes of two of the accused arrested for allegedly disturbing the peace and social harmony, a day after violence over recent remarks by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad.
According to the district’s police commissioner, a total of 64 persons have been detained in Saharanpur.
The police published photos of policemen and municipal officers at the homes of suspects Muzammil and Abdul Waqir, with bulldozers razing their houses’ gates and exterior walls, which they allege were unlawful constructions.
Over 230 persons have been detained in the state so far for violent riots sparked by two BJP politicians’ offensive and sectarian remarks about Prophet Muhammad. In seven districts, 11 cases have been brought, all of them for serious offences.
In Kanpur, the police bulldozers today razed homes belonging to a man they described as a ‘land mafia related to local leader Zafar Hayat Hashmi, who is the major accused in the violence.’ The Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) has demolished a newly-constructed building owned by one Mohammad Ishtiyaq, who is alleged to be a close cousin of the principal accused Zafar Hayat Hashmi, according to Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Anand Prakash Tiwari.