At least 50 persons, including members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, have been booked in eight cases registered in connection with the violent protests last week in Himachal Pradesh against a mosque they claim has been constructed illegally, The Indian Express reported on Monday

Over the past two weeks, Hindutva organisations have been demanding the demolition of portions of the mosque in Shimla’s Sanjauli area.

On September 11, the police used water cannon and lathi-charged demonstrators when the agitation turned violent. Around 10 persons, including police personnel and women, were injured in the clashes, PTI reported.

Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Gandhi said that 50 to 60 suspects were identified for violating prohibitory orders, throwing stones and attacking the police personnel during the protest.

The Shimla district administration had issued prohibitory orders in Sanjauli on September 10 after Hindutva organisations called for the protest march.

“Raids are on to nab them,” Gandhi said about protestors. “Some of them were found absconding. Key identified suspects were found involved in more than one registered FIRs [first information reports].”

Gandhi added that many of the councillors had also participated in the protests. “Certain VHP [Vishwa Hindu Parishad] volunteers were earlier booked in cases of protests,” he said. “We have also sought assistance of our counterparts in Solan, Sirmaur and Kangra from where the suspects came.”

The protestors were booked under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to promoting enmity on grounds of religion, offence at a place of worship, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, criminal conspiracy and assault, spreading misinformation about religion, disobeying orders of public servants, and assaulting a public servant.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad announced free legal aid for those booked in the cases, according to The Indian Express.

“It was a pre-planned protest to disturb the peace,” Gandhi said. “Those who provoked the whole incident on social media have been identified and their act and conduct endorse how they participated in the crime.”

He added: “In a video, a person was seen standing on a tempo and provoking the people to break the prohibitory order under section 163 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. We did not receive any application seeking permission to protest.”

On September 12, a Muslim welfare committee met Shimla Municipal Commissioner Bhupendra Attri and offered to demolish the portions of the mosque a Shimla court had termed illegal. This was being done to ensure harmony in the neighbourhood, the committee said.

The court has been hearing the case about the legality of the mosque. The date for the next hearing has been fixed for October 5.

On September 4, the matter sparked a row in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly when state minister Anirudh Singh and his Congress colleague Harish Janartha argued about the mosque. The Congress is the ruling party in the state.

On September 7, the Himachal Waqf Board told the court that the mosque was its property and that the dispute was about the construction of additional floors.

Also read: Himachal Pradesh: With Sanjauli mosque, BJP once again uses urban planning as a Hindutva weapon