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Photo Credit: Simon Williams-Im
A violent clash between the police and protesters, following an offensive social media post about Prophet Muhammad, has led to the deaths of three people in Bengaluru, in Southern India.
The derogatory post sparked outrage and led to attacks on the police station as well as police houses and vehicles. The police resorted to live ammunition resulting in the death of three people. Police have further imposed a prohibition against public gatherings in Bengaluru.
Police Commissioner, Kamal Pant, reported to Al Jazeera that they have arrested the person responsible for the offensive post. The individual was reported to be a nephew of Congress politician R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, whose house was attacked and burned in the violence.
Muslim leaders, such as Maulana Mohammed Maqsood Imran Rasheedi, have called for peace. He told reporters.
"We have appealed to people to maintain peace and not to resort to any kind of violence," he added.
Mufti PM Muzammil of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind further called for calm stating that the police had taken appropriate actions against the provocateur.
This statement follows escalating tensions in India after India’s Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for a controversial Hindu temple dedicated to Ram in the northern city of Ayodhya where a mosque was demolished by Hindu mobs nearly 30 years ago. Approximately 2,000 people were killed in that riot.
Read more from the New York Times and Al Jazeera.
