'€˜Road not for Muslims'€™: Graffiti appears on UP highway, police launch probe

Saharanpur (UP), Feb 27 (PTI) A graffiti reading "This road is not for Muslims" appeared on the Delhi-Dehradun National Highway (NH-72A) here, prompting the police to register a case and launch a probe, officials said on Friday.

They are also verifying the authenticity of a video, purportedly showing two young women using spray paint to write on the railing along an elevated stretch of NH-72A.

Behatigarh Police, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, said the words "Yeh sadak Musalmanon ke liye nahin hai" were written in Hindi on the roadside, while its English translation, "This road is not allowed for Muslims" was painted onto the railing of an elevated iron bridge on the same highway.

Superintendent of Police (Rural) Sagar Jain told PTI that an employee of the National Highways Authority of India filed a complaint, based on which a case has been registered against unidentified workers of the Hindu Raksha Dal under Section 353(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Section 353(2) pertains to statements conducing to public mischief and promoting ill will between groups or communities.

Meanwhile, a video has surfaced on social media showing two young women allegedly writing on the railing of the elevated stretch of NH-72A using spray paint. A car with an Uttarakhand registration number plate is also visible in the video.

Police said the authenticity of the video is being verified. PTI COR KIS RUK RUK