Delhi Police registers FIR after Nupur Sharma alleges death threats

The Delhi Police has registered an FIR on a complaint by Nupur Sharma in which the suspended BJP spokesperson alleged that she is receiving death threats after her remarks on Prophet Mohammad, officials said on Monday.

"Based on the FIR, we have initiated a probe into the matter," a senior police official said.

According to the officials, the FIR has been registered under IPC 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) against the unknown people.

Police said that on May 28, a complaint by Sharma was received at cyber cell unit against various persons regarding death threats and targeted hatred to her. On this complaint, a case was registered under the aforesaid sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), they said.

"During investigation, another complaint by Sharma was received against certain persons regarding promoting enmity. After examining the complaint, Section 153A of IPC was added to this case. Notices have been sent to Twitter Inc. and a reply from it is awaited. Investigation of the case is in progress," the senior police official said.

The BJP on Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal as the row over their alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad escalated with protests from some Muslim countries.

Amid demonstrations 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.

Sharma's comments, made during a TV debate nearly 10 days ago, and Jindal's now-deleted tweets sparked a Twitter trend calling for a boycott of Indian products in some countries.

After the action, Sharma unconditionally withdrew her controversial statement and claimed that her comments were a reaction to "continuous insult and disrespect towards our Mahadev (Lord Shiva).

A communication to Sharma from the BJP's disciplinary committee said she had expressed views contrary to the party's position on various matters, which is in clear violation of its constitution.

"Pending further inquiry, you are suspended from the party and from your responsibilities, assignments if any, with immediate effect," it said.