Nupur Sharma row: Illegal guns found in Prayagraj violence mastermind’s house before razing, say cops

As bulldozers took over the streets of Uttar Pradesh for the second straight day after the protests against the remarks on Prophet Muhammad, several properties were razed and leveled in the city of Prayagraj, most notably, the property of the main accused of the violence, Javed Mohammad, has been demolished.

According to the police, Javed Mohammad has been accused of being the mastermind behind the violence that erupted in Prayagraj on Friday over the remarks of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Muhammad.

The Uttar Pradesh police, according to media reports, also said that several illegal and objectionable materials were found inside the property of Mohammad before it was demolished. It was reported that he had put up objectionable posters, and also had illegal guns inside the house.

The house of Javed Mohammad, who is a leader in the Welfare Party of India, was demolished on Sunday afternoon, two days after the protests against Nupur Sharma. The police said that some documents from his house “show objectionable comments against the honourable court.”

The cops further said that during the search conducted before the demolition of his house, weapons such as a 12-bore illegal pistol and a 315-bore pistol and cartridges were found inside Mohammad’s house, as per media reports.

According to the authorities, Javed Mohammad’s house was razed over the illegal construction on the ground floor of the property, and he had failed to respond to a demolition order sent to his property in May this year.

Bulldozers were brought in to demolish houses in several parts of Uttar Pradesh, such as Prayagraj and Saharanpur, just a day after protests erupted in the cities. The police, however, said that the demolition was a “normal process” carried out against illegal constructions.

The Nupur Sharma controversy erupted when the former BJP leader had made objectionable remarks on Prophet Muhammad on a TV news debate over 10 days ago, sparking a wave of outrage. This triggered nationwide protests on Friday last week, with several incidents of violence and stone-pelting recorded in multiple states.

READ | Nupur Sharma must be forgiven, don't agree with protests: Muslim body