Prophet row: Comments taken out of context, says Sharma in statement to cops

Suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma has recorded her statement in connection with a case of hurting religious sentiments lodged against her, the Delhi Police said on Friday, a day when the Supreme Court said the BJP leader’s controversial comments on Prophet Mohammed during a TV debate in May were “single-handedly responsible for putting the entire nation on fire”. According a senior officer privy to the matter, Sharma, in her statement to the cops, said that she made the comment during the TV debate “according to the information in the Muslim holy book”. Police had registered two first information reports — one against Sharma and another against 33 people including expelled BJP member Naveen Jindal, journalist Saba Naqvi, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi and priest Yati Narsinghanand Saraswati for alleged hate speech on social media and other public forums. In her petition, Sharma said that nine FIRs were registered against her under various charges of the Indian Penal Code across several states, including Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal, in a coordinated attempt to silence her and impinge her right to free speech and liberty.