At least 12 people have been held by the police after 20 were injured in a clash Monday when an angry mob tried to break into Chitalmari police station in Bagerhat demanding punishment for a college student who allegedly insulted the Prophet (PBUH). According to Superintendent (SP) of Bagerhat police KM Ariful haque, a facebook post insulting Islam and the Prophet (PBUH) was shared a few days ago from the FB ID of Ronit Bala Rony, a Grade-XI student at the local Sher-e-Bangla College. The police held the girl after noticing the post on the night of June 12. On Monday noon, a few hundred people gathered outside the Chitalmari police station and started to protest demanding proper punishment for the girl. At one point, they attacked the police station and vandalized it along with vehicles parked outside. “The situation turned extreme when the protesters tried to enter the police station. Police members had to fire 24 rounds of empty bullets to bring the situation under control. 20 people, including 12 police personnel, got injured during this time,” said Ariful.   “The police have so far arrested 12 people in this connection. Currently, they are being quizzed inside the police station. Process to lodge a case by the police is also underway,” added Ariful. Also Read: Prophet remarks: Police halt Islami Andolan’s march towards Indian High Commission Ariful mentioned that the college student claimed that she didn’t post the derogatory status. Rather, someone else opened a fake account with her name and posted it to spoil her. “Police are investigating the claim,” Ariful added. Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) of Chitalmari Syeda Faizunnesa said that she rushed to the police station after learning about the attack. “There, they threw brickbats at me and vandalized my car,” Faizunnesa said. Marufa Nasrin, a doctor at the Chitalmari Upazila Health Complex, said that a total of eight people of different age groups have received first-aid from the hospital. Extra police personnel have been deployed at the police station to prevent any untoward incident. END/UNB/COrr/AB/ssk 1840hrs   

The row over controversial comments made by two former spokespersons of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) about the Prophet Muhammad is escalating with each passing day. After the Friday prayers, Muslims in Delhi and the neighbouring northern state of Uttar Pradesh took to the streets demanding the immediate arrest of erstwhile BJP national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and former Delhi media cell head Naveen Kumar Jindal. Also read: Muslim nations slam India over insulting remarks about Islam The protests broke out simultaneously in Delhi outside the Jama Masjid, one of the largest mosques in India, and in several cities of western Uttar Pradesh. "The law and order situation is more or less under control in Delhi, as the protests have been largely peaceful," a police officer said. Local TV channels, however, aired footage of violent clashes between the protesters and police in the city of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. The protests erupted in the wake of the controversial remarks against the Prophet Muhammad, which triggered a major diplomatic row between India and many Muslim-majority countries -- the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Qatar to name a few. On Sunday, the BJP sacked the two spokespersons from their respective posts, saying the party “respects all religions”. “The BJP does not promote such persons or philosophy… it (the BJP) strongly denounces the insult of any religious personalities of any religion,” the party had said in a statement. Also read:India's BJP sacks two spokespersons over comments on Prophet In fact, the BJP swung into firefighting mode hours after Qatar and Kuwait -- with which India shares close ties -- had summoned the Indian envoys in their respective countries to lodge their "strong protest" over their controversial remarks. Later, Iran, Indonesia, the UAE, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Libya and Bahrain also issued condemnations. India's main opposition Congress party had also lashed out at the BJP over the fiasco and questioned if the ruling outfit was on a course correction mode. "Is the BJP sincere in course correcting?" the Congress had said in a statement.