• Authorities have taken down the film, which was widely disseminated on YouTube.
• Muslims have flocked to the streets to protest anti-Islamic remarks made by two members of PM Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist (BJP)
• The BJP suspended Nupur Sharma, its spokeswoman, and expelled another party leader.

SRINAGAR: Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir arrested a teenager on Sunday after he posted a video threatening to behead a former spokesperson for India’s ruling party who had made insulting remarks about the Prophet (SAW).

Authorities have taken down the film, which was widely disseminated on YouTube, in an effort to quell religious turmoil that has swept across the country.

Muslims have flocked to the streets to protest anti-Islamic remarks made in recent weeks by two members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The BJP suspended Nupur Sharma, its spokeswoman, and expelled another party leader, Naveen Kumar Jindal, earlier this month for comments that enraged several Muslim countries, posing a major diplomatic issue for the Modi government.

The two dismissed BJP officials have been charged by the police.

Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Iran have all registered diplomatic protests and utilised social media to demand an apology from the government.

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Last week, India’s foreign ministry stated that the tweets and comments do not reflect the government’s views.

Clashes erupted across the country over the statements, which some in India’s minority Muslim community saw as the latest example of BJP-era pressure and humiliation on topics ranging from freedom of worship to the wearing of hijab head scarves.

Protesters battled with police in the eastern city of Ranchi last week, killing two adolescents.

After brief disturbances in northern Uttar Pradesh, police arrested around 300 persons.

Authorities in West Bengal’s eastern state have imposed an emergency legislation restricting public gatherings in Howrah’s industrial district until June 16. After the recent communal unrest, at least 70 people were arrested on charges of rioting and breaching public order, and Internet services were suspended for more than 48 hours.

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