The Delhi Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) over complaints made by former BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma that she received threats over her controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammed. A senior police officer said a probe had been initiated.
According to the police, the FIR has been registered under Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 506 (criminal intimidation), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code against unknown people.
A complaint from Ms. Sharma was received at the cyber cell unit on May 28 against various persons regarding death threats and targeted hatred on her. A case was registered under the aforesaid Sections of the IPC, the police said. During investigation, Ms. Sharma complained that she received threats from certain persons regarding promoting enmity.
The police said notices had been sent to Twitter Inc. and a reply from it was awaited, and investigation was under way.
BJP clarifies
On Sunday, the BJP suspended Ms. Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal over their derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed that escalated with protests from some Muslim countries. Amid protests by Muslim groups and the sharp reaction from countries like Kuwait, Qatar and Iran, the BJP issued a statement asserting that it respects all religions and strongly denounces insults of any religious personality. The comments were made by Ms. Sharma in a TV debate nearly 10 days ago, and Mr. Jindal’s now-deleted tweets had sparked a Twitter trend calling for a boycott of Indian products in some countries.
After the action, Ms. Sharma unconditionally withdrew her controversial statement made in the TV debate and claimed that her comments were a reaction to “continuous insult and disrespect towards Lord Shiva.”
The BJP’s disciplinary committee communicated to her saying that the views expressed by her were contrary to the party’s position on various matters, which is in clear violation of its constitution. The party said pending further inquiry, she has been suspended from the party.
