Hyderabad: The Old City saw another round of protests on Wednesday night demanding action against the suspended BJP MLA T Raja Singh over his derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad. With heavy police deployment in areas of Mir Chowk, Charminar and Goshamahal, police personnel resorted to lathi-charge at some places to maintain law and order. Barricades were put up around Charminar on Thursday morning as a precautionary measure.
In the purview of these protests, business complexes in the main areas of Chandrayanagutta, Charminar, Yakutpura, Bahadurpura, Falaknuma, Shalibanda, Mogalpura, Talab Katta and Rein Bazar areas were closed before 8 pm on Wednesday night. Motorists and pedestrians wandering on the roads were sent home. Patrolling was conducted with street patrol vehicles. An additional CP level officer is monitoring the deployment in the entire city.
Meanwhile, the protesters offered strong resistance in almost all areas despite the police deployment. Many of them took out rallies and raised slogans. In some areas, incidents of lathi-charge and stone-pelting at police were also reported. The police detained over 127 protesters while the RPF forces also conducted a flag march in the Old City. At around 3 am, the detained protesters were released with a warning. Similar protests had erupted in the city on Tuesday night.
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Subsequently, police have warned the netizens against any fake or misleading social media posts. They also notified that traffic in some parts of the city may be needed to be diverted as per the needs, thereby asking the residents to cooperate. Responding to Raja Singh's case, Home Minister Mahmood Ali said that the State government is adopting an uncompromising policy in the matter of peace and security. He made it clear that whoever tries to create unrest so as to harm the sentiments and beliefs of others, will not be tolerated. "We will take action against Raja Singh for his comments. The law does not differentiate between people of a different race, religion, caste, or class," he said.
