The Jammu and Kashmir police on Thursday registered a case against the editor of India Today for publishing a picture of Islam's holiest shrine of Mecca on a playing card in the magazine's latest edition. Since Islam prohibits gambling, protestors in the state are regarding the picture of the shrine on a playing card as an insult.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Srinagar Muneer Khan said that a case has been registered against India Today's editor under the Publications Act for publishing the picture of the holy Mecca on a playing card in an article on religious minorities. The case has been registered at the Maisuma police station in Srinagar.
The Jammu and Kashmir government Wednesday banned the current issue of India Today. Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig announced in the state assembly that the government had imposed a ban on the issue. Orders for confiscation of the copies were also issued. Baig said that a resolution in this regard had been drafted and would be discussed with the leader of opposition before tabling in the House.
A senior police official told Press Trust of India (PTI) that soon after Kashmir valley was rocked by the protests over the weekly carrying the photograph, the government banned the weekly's issue and ordered its consfication. The police conducted searches in marketplaces all over the state and confiscated copies from stalls, he said.
Atleast five persons were injured and 10 others taken into preventive custody from different areas of the Valley as protests continued for the second consecutive day Wednesday. Traffic on the Srinagar-Baramulla and Srinagar-Gulmarg in north and Srinagar-Pulwama and Srinagar-Snantnag routes in south Kashnmir were disrupted as groups of people took to streets. Breakaway Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for massive demonstrations across the state on Friday.
On Tuesday, the police had to fire teargas to disperse hundreds of protestors in Srinagar. More than 400 Muslim youths gathered near Lal Chowk, in the heart of Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, shouting "La Ilaha Illallah" (there is no god but Allah) ... down with India Today."
Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, K Rajendra Kumar said Thursday that all copies of India Today had been seized. ''We are calling a meeting of senior citizens and Muslim scholars to discuss the issue and take a final decision on the latest issue of the magazine in which the pictures were published,'' he said.
