A day after violence erupted in parts of Uttar Pradesh over two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders' comments on Prophet Muhammad, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's media advisor Mrityunjay Kumar took to Twitter and posted a cryptic warning on Saturday, 11 June.
"Remember, every Friday is followed by a Saturday," he wrote in Hindi, posting a photo of a bulldozer.
This came after the Kanpur district administration demolished parts of a building owned by businessman Mohammad Ishtiyaq – a close relative of Hayat Zafar Hashmi, accused of being the 'key conspirator' of the violence that erupted in Kapur after Friday prayers on 3 June.
'PFI's Role Cannot be Ruled Out': SSP Saharanpur
Meanwhile, a senior police official on Saturday indicated that Popular Front of India's (PFI) involvement in the incidents cannot be ruled out.
"The manner in which the crowd took to the streets after Friday namaz on Friday, it definitely seems that some people had planned it. While there is no evidence of PFI involvement yet, it cannot be ruled out," SSP Saharanpur told news agency ANI.
Later in the day, SSP Moradabad Hemant Kutiyal also reportedly reiterated these claims.
"Nothing like that has come in the investigation so far. But the investigation is going on. So, we won't deny it, there might be a possibility," he was quoted as saying.
A total of 237 people have been arrested from several cities in UP, which saw protests and violence as people took to the streets demanding arrest of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.
Protests were seen in several parts of the country, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Telangana on Friday over the remarks against Prophet.
While the protests were largely peaceful, violence ensued in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, Howrah in West Bengal, Jharkhand's Ranchi, and parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
(With inputs from ANI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)