Thane, Jun 12 (PTI) Police on Sunday detained a 19-year-old Muslim man at Bhiwandi town in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly posting a derogatory remark on Prophet Mohammad and showing support to now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial comments, a senior official said.

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The accused was taken into custody by the police after tense situation prevailed in the town over his viral social media post, which angered the members of the Muslim community, he confirmed.

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A video, which has gone viral on social media, shows a group of people marching towards the house of the man and later hitting and questioning him over his post.

In his social media post, the man praised Nupur Sharma, whom the BJP has suspended on June 5 over her alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad, calling her a "brave lady". He also posted some derogatory remark against the Prophet, police sources said.

After his post went viral, hundreds of angy members of the Muslim community protested outside his house in Bhiwandi. The local police had a tough time in bringing the situation under control as tempers ran high among the protesters, they said.

"Considering the sensitive situation and the unrest, the man was taken into custody," the official said.

A video of the police detaining him also went viral.

Police said no FIR has been registered in this connection so far.

The Bhiwandi police have earlier summoned Nupur Sharma to record a statement on Monday in connection with her alleged objectionable remarks against the Prophet. They have also asked expelled BJP functionary Naveen Kumar Jindal to record his statement on June 15 over his comments.

The Bhiwandi police have registered cases against Sharma and Jindal.

Earlier, the Mumbra police in Thane have also asked Sharma to appear before them on June 22 to record her statement, while the Mumbai Police have summoned her on June 25.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)