Nine people were detained on Tuesday in curfew-bound Bhaderwah town of Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district for provocative sloganeering, while restrictions were relaxed in nearby Kishtwar district headquarters for five hours, officials said.
The curfew was imposed in the two towns last Thursday following communal tension over the controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad by former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma and certain social media posts by local right wing activists in her support.
The police had arrested a person on Sunday for allegedly delivering an inflammatory speech at a mosque. Protests had taken place in Doda on Friday when protests were held against Sharma's comments across the country, which turned violent at several places in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand's Ranchi, and West Bengal's Howrah.
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Senior police and civil officers are monitoring the law and order situation and the curfew in Bhaderwah is expected to be relaxed in a phased manner starting late on Tuesday, they said.
In Kishtwar, curfew was relaxed for five hours from 1.30 pm, the officials said, adding shops and business establishments opened soon after the relaxation was announced.
On Monday too, the administration had relaxed the restrictions for one-and-a-half hours and there was no untoward incident. People were seen thronging markets and buying essential commodities during this time, the officials said.
They said broadband and mobile internet services continue to remain suspended as a precautionary measure in both Bhaderwah and Kishtwar.
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Last Friday, protests erupted at multiple places in Jammu and Kashmir with sporadic stone-pelting reported in Bhaderwah, but no injuries were reported.
Besides Bhaderwah, protests erupted in Srinagar's Lal Chowk, Batamaloo, Tengpora and elsewhere in the city. Officials said protests remained peaceful and no violence was reported in the city.
Earlier, tensions had soared in Doda after the Lord Vasuki Nag temple in the district was vandalised, which led to a complete shutdown and condemnation across party lines. The police formed a special investigation team to probe the matter.
(With PTI inputs)
