NEW DELHI, June 9 (Reuters) – Police in New Delhi said on Thursday they 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 led to a diplomatic backlash.<\/p>\n
Many Muslim-majority countries have condemned India after Nupur Sharma, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), commented on the prophet’s private life during a recent heated TV debate that Muslims found insulting.<\/p>\n
Calls have grown for a boycott of Indian products in Gulf countries, while the BJP has suspended Sharma and asked its spokespeople to speak more responsibly in public.<\/p>\n
Delhi Police said they had registered two preliminary complaints – known as first information reports – on the basis “of social media analysis against those trying to disrupt public tranquillity & inciting people on divisive lines”.<\/p>\n
“One pertains to Ms Nupur Sharma & the other against multiple social media entities,” the department said on Twitter, without specifying what posts triggered the complaint and what were the entities.<\/p>\n
“Even as notices are being sent to social media intermediaries for details of those behind these accounts\/entities, #DelhiPolice appeals to everyone to desist from posting anything that may disrupt social and communal harmony.”<\/p>\n
In India, the filing of a complaint is the first process in any police investigation and is typically followed by questioning of the accused.<\/p>\n
Sharma did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via a Twitter direct message. Reuters could not find a phone number or email address for her. A BJP spokesperson did not answer his phone.<\/p>\n
Sharma said on Twitter on Sunday her comment on the prophet was in response to “continuous insult and disrespect” towards a Hindu god during the TV debate, but that she had withdrawn her statement.<\/p>\n
Many Indian TV stations regularly host debates on communal issues where Muslim and Hindu speakers shout at each other.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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