A 72-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly disrupting communal harmony and holding a protest without permission at the Jama Masjid area in Delhi recently against the controversial remarks of now-removed BJP functionaries on Prophet Mohammad, police said on Wednesday.
The police had arrested two people -- Mohd Nadeem Zaid (45), a resident of the Jama Masjid area, and Mohd Faheem Khan (37), a resident of the Turkman Gate area -- on Saturday night in connection with the protest.
While Zaid is a vendor, Khan works as an electrician.
The accused has been identified as Anwaruddin, a resident of Matia Mahal in the Jama Masjid area, they said.
Anwaruddin has a motor shop in the area and has been earlier involved in 10 criminal cases, including three related to riots, a senior police officer said.
According to the police, preliminary investigation has found that people were mobilised through WhatsApp groups.
Protests had erupted outside the Jama Masjid on June 10 with hundreds of people demanding the arrest of suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
The protesters, who had gathered on the steps of the famous mosque, carried placards and raised slogans against Sharma and Naveen Jindal, former head of the Delhi BJP's media unit, over their remarks on Prophet Mohammad.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Shweta Chauhan had said, "On June 10, an FIR was registered at Jama Masjid police station against the protesters under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as a protest was held in the Jama Masjid area after Friday prayers without permission. Section 153A IPC has also been added (to the FIR) for promoting communal disharmony in the area."
(With PTI inputs)
