Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh police have arrested several individuals following a protest in Amethi district, where demonstrators were mourning the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, killed in an Israeli airstrike. The police intervention occurred during a candlelight vigil that included chants against Israel and the display of images of Nasrallah.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the protest on Tuesday was met with a police crackdown near Jamia Masjid, where authorities stated the gathering was unauthorized. Subsequently, charges were filed against 11 named individuals and about 40 others who remain unidentified, covering multiple offenses related to the unauthorized assembly.

Station House Officer Ravi Kumar Singh confirmed that arrests were made following home raids, with video footage currently being reviewed to identify further participants. The police’s action has sparked criticism from the All India Shia Personal Law Board, which condemned the arrests as a targeted suppression of mourning and solidarity expressions for Nasrallah. The board has urged the government to drop all charges, highlighting concerns over what they perceive as a pattern of bias against specific community expressions of political and emotional sentiments.

The incident has drawn attention amid wider protests across India and in occupied Jammu and Kashmir, reflecting a growing climate of dissent and the government’s increasingly stringent response to it.