Days after communal violence was reported in Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur, a man was arrested by the city police on Wednesday, 8 June, for allegedly misbehaving with an elderly Muslim vendor.
A video of the incident showing the youth, Tushar Shukla, had been widely circulated on social media. In the video, the young man can be seen abusing the shopkeeper and asking him to remove his clothes shop that he set up on the footpath.
Taking cognizance of the viral video, the Police Commissionerate of Kanpur registered a case against the youth at Govind Nagar police station and arrested him.
Joint Police Commissioner Anand Prakash Tiwari said that strict action will be taken against those who try to disturb harmony. "Tushar identifies himself as a leader of a Hindutva organisation. However, no information about the organisation could be found," he was quoted as saying by a Times of India report.
This comes after violence broke out in Pared, Nai Sadak, and Yateemkhana areas of the city on Friday, 3 June, when some people tried to force shopkeepers to bring down shutters following Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nupur Sharma's comments against Prophet Muhammad.
"After the Friday prayers, some people tried to forcibly shut shops owned by Hindus. This led to a protest followed by a clash. The situation is now under control. We will take strict action against the miscreants involved in the violence," the police had said.
At least 50 people have been arrested in connection with the incident.
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