On June 8, 2022, supporters of the Jamaat-e Islami religious group protested derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad made by Nupur Sharma, a spokesman for the governing Indian Hindu nationalist party, in Peshawar, Pakistan. MOHAMMAD SAJJAD AP PHOTO NEW DELHI Police in New Delhi have filed a complaint against a suspended spokeswoman for India's ruling party for inciting people on divisive lines on social media, days after her remarks on Prophet Mohammed caused a diplomatic backlash.
Many Muslim-majority countries have condemned India after Nupur Sharma, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, commented on the prophet's private life during a recent heated TV debate that Muslims found insulting.
The BJP has suspended Sharma and asked his spokespeople to speak more responsibly in the public, as a result of calls for a boycott of Indian products in Gulf countries.
The Delhi Police said that they had received two preliminary complaints - known as first information reports - on the basis of social media analysis against those trying to disrupt public tranquillity by citing multiple social media entities. One pertains to Ms Nupur Sharma, the other one against multiple social media entities, without specifying what was the complaint and what were the entities.
As notices are sent to social media intermediaries for details of those behind these accounts entities, DelhiPolice appeals to everyone not to post anything that could disrupt social and communal harmony. In India, the filing of a complaint is the first process in a police investigation and is usually followed by questioning of the accused.
Sharma didn't respond immediately to a request for comment sent via a Twitter direct message. A BJP spokesman did not answer his phone.
She said on Sunday her comment on the prophet was in response to continuous insults and disrespect towards a Hindu god during the TV debate, but she has withdrawn her statement.
READ MORE: India tightens its security after threat over anti-Muslim remarks.
Many Indian TV stations host debates on communal issues where Muslim and Hindu speakers shout at each other.
A religious cum political party in Pakistan, Jamaat-e Islami, has called for a protest march in Islamabad to the Indian Embassy on Thursday against Sharma's remarks.