Police on Thursday foiled the attempt of Islamist activists to march towards the Indian High Commission protesting the recent derogatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by two BJP leaders.
Police blocked the protesters at Dhaka’s Shantinagar intersection around 12:20pm.
Several thousand protesters began the march from the north gate of Baitul Mukarram National Mosque at 12:05pm.
The protest created traffic congestion stalling vehicular movement around the Baitul Mukarram area and adjacent areas.
The protesters reached Shantinagar intersection without any mishap. At that point, police placed barricades on both sides of the roads to stop the march.
The protests erupted in the wake of the insulting remarks on the Prophet (PBUH), which triggered a major diplomatic row between India and many Muslim-majority countries – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait and Qatar.
India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said on June 5 that it had suspended its spokeswoman Nupur Sharma in response to comments she made during a TV debate about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Sharma said on Twitter she had said somethings in response to comments made about a Hindu god but she had no intention to hurt anyone's religious feelings.
"If my words have caused discomfort or hurt religious feelings of anyone whatsoever, I hereby unconditionally withdraw my statement," she said.
Another BJP spokesman, Naveen Jindal, was expelled from the party over comments he had made about Islam on social media, the BJP office said.
Jindal said on Twitter he had questioned some comments made against Hindu gods. "I only questioned them but that does not mean I am against any religion."
The BJP statement also said: "The Bharatiya Janata Party is also against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion. The BJP does not promote such people or philosophy."
Sharma's comments prompted complaints from several Muslim countries, including Qatar and Kuwait.