Tension gripped Pokhran town in Rajasthan鈥檚 Jaisalmer district, famous for India鈥檚 nuclear tests, over an allegedly derogatory social media post targeting Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Mahant Pratap Puri related to International Yoga Day late on Sunday (June 22, 2025) night. The police have arrested 13 persons after a demonstration outside the police station.
Rafiq Khan, a resident of Gomat village, was accused of posting controversial remarks on a photo of Mr. Puri during the event. Tension escalated after Mr. Khan鈥檚 arrest on Sunday, when Firoz Khan, the Gomat sarpanch鈥檚 husband, arrived at the police station and allegedly incited the people to gather there.
A crowd, which gathered and staged a protest outside the police station, turned violent and started pelting stones. The police resorted to baton-charge to disperse the crowd and arrested Firoz Khan along with five of his associates on charges of obstructing government work and creating unrest.
Seven other individuals were later apprehended for breach of peace, taking the total number of arrests to 13. The police have also identified 40 more suspects and are conducting searches to arrest them after adding their names to the first information report (FIR).
Jaisalmer Superintendent of Police Sudhir Chaudhary appealed to the public on Monday to refrain from sharing or reacting to the post. While the situation has been brought under control, the police have emphasised 鈥渮ero tolerance鈥 towards any act which disturbs communal harmony.