The police on Friday prevented an incident that could have resulted in communal tension in the sensitive old city by arresting a footwear shop salesman carrying a mobile phone with images hurting the religious sentiments of minorities.
When Hari, salesman of DK Footwear shop at Yousufbazar in Mirchowk, was in the shop, the worker of a neighbouring shop noticed on Thursday that there were some objectionable images in his mobile phone.
“The image of Ganesh was superimposed on another religious symbol in the image. Angered over this, the shop worker questioned Hari what he intended to do with such images. This resulted in an altercation. Soon, the shop worker called in others in the locality and they rounded up Hari and beat him up.
They were furious that the salesman hurt their religious sentiments by carrying such pictures. “The mob continued to beat up Hari when a businessman pacified them and ensured the matter didn't spread,” the Mirchowk police said. On learning about the incident, the police rushed there and took the salesman into custody.
Keeping in mind earlier acts of mischief mongers leading to serious law and order disturbances, they convened a meeting with persons in the area and appealed to them not to blow the incident out of proportion.
