Nupur Sharma, the BJP leader suspended amid outrage over her comments on Prophet Muhammad, has been given security after she complained to the Delhi Police about death threats.
Security has been given to Nupur Sharma as a “preventive measure”, the police said.
“Sharma and her family have been provided police security after she alleged that she has been receiving threats and was being harassed over her remarks,” an official said, according to news agency PTI.
The police said on May 28, its cyber cell unit received a complaint from Nupur Sharma against various persons about “death threats and targeted hatred”.
An FIR was registered listing charges like criminal intimidation.
“During the probe, another complaint was received from Nupur Sharma against certain persons promoting enmity,” the officer said.
“Notices have been sent to Twitter Inc. and a reply from it is awaited. Investigation into the case is underway,” added the officer quoted by PTI.
Nupur Sharma was suspended by the BJP over her comments on the Prophet during a TV debate 10 days ago, which have drawn furious reactions and official protests from at least 15 nations, including Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, Iran, Jordan, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Maldives, Libya and Indonesia.
Several Gulf nations summoned Indian envoys and expressed condemnation over what they called anti-Islamic statements by BJP spokespersons.
Nupur Sharma withdrew her statement “unconditionally” and claimed she was reacting to “continuous insult and disrespect towards our Mahadev (Lord Shiva)”.
The government, attempting to defuse the anger, told the nations that the comments reflected views of “fringe elements”.
The BJP, suspending Nupur Sharma and expelling another leader, Naveen Jindal, over their comments on Prophet Muhammad, said it is “strongly against any ideology which insults or demeans any sect or religion” and “does not promote such people or philosophy”.
As outrage spiraled and the crisis snowballed, she posted tweets urging the media to not make her address public, saying her family faced a security threat.
The BJP’s suspension letter to her, which was posted online by many Twitter handles, had her home address.