30 arrested after protest outside police station over FIR against Owaisi

Thirty people have been arrested after their protest outside Parliament Street police station here over FIR against party chief Asaddudin Owaisi for allegedly posting and sharing messages on social media inciting people on divisive lines, officials said on Friday.

The protest was held on Thursday. A total of 33 protesters, including women, were detained and an FIR was registered for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) Amrutha Guguloth on Friday said 30 protesters have been arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The Delhi Police has registered FIRs against former BJP spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, controversial priest Yati Narsinghanand and others for allegedly posting and sharing messages on social media against the maintenance of public tranquillity and inciting people on divisive lines.

The FIRs were registered after an analysis of social media, they said.

"The cases have been registered against those who were posting and sharing messages against the maintenance of public tranquillity and were inciting people on the basis of divisive lines," a senior police officer said.

One case has been registered against Sharma and another against multiple social media entities, including Owaisi, Jindal, Narsinghanand, Shadab Chauhan, Saba Naqvi, Maulana Mufti Nadeem, Abdur Rehman and Gulzar Ansari, based on the analysis, a police officer said.

Notices will be sent to the social media intermediaries for the details, he added.