Jaipur, Apr 26 (PTI) Hundreds gathered on Saturday at the Jama Masjid in Jaipur to protest against posters pasted inside the mosque and slogans raised there by BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya. Police said they dispersed the crowd after the protesters "forcibly" shut shops in the Johari Bazar area.

Police said some people started sitting on the roads in protest after evening namaz. Mild police force was used to disperse the crowd, they said.

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"They were sent to their homes after talks. Situation and traffic is normal. Police is taking its action and people need not protest on the road. No untoward incident has happened," Jaipur police commissioner Biju George Joseph said.

Police conducted flag marches at various places in the area and appealed to people to maintain peace.

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Tensions flared after BJP leader Balmukund Acharya allegedly reached the mosque to protest against the Pahalgam terror attack on Friday. Twenty-six people, most of them tourists, were killed by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on Tuesday.

A purported video of Friday night's incident shows a big crowd of people raise slogans of 'Vande Mataram', 'Pakistan Murdabad' and 'Jai Shri Ram' outside the mosque.

Later in the night, an FIR was filed at the Manak Chowk police station on Jama Masjid Committee member's complaint that Acharya and his supporters entered the mosque during night prayers, raised slogans targeting a community, pasted an offensive poster on the mosque's stairs, and issued threats.

Reacting to the incident, Acharya posted on X that he had participated in a protest against the Pahalgam attack with thousands in attendance.

"On a call given by Sarva Hindu Samaj, I joined a public outrage meeting at Jaipur's Badi Chaupad today to protest against the terrorist attack in Pahalgam and paid tributes to the innocent people killed. I protested against this incident by raising slogans of 'Pakistan Murdabad, Aatankvad Murdabad' (Down with Pakistan, down with terrorism)," Acharya wrote on the social media platform.

Later in a video post he said he did not intend to hurt any community and that at this hour everyone should come together against Pakistan and send a message of unity and brotherhood.

"Some people tried to spoil the environment by spreading rumours. People should be misled by their words, he said.

Asking people to maintain peace, the BJP leader said this issue should not move towards violence or conflict. "I express regret if anyone's sentiments were hurt," he said in a video statement Saturday.

The Jama Masjid management committee also held a press conference, appealing people to not take out protests and maintain peace.

Congress MLA Amin Kagzi said, "We are ready to sacrifice everything for peace in Jaipur. We are making efforts from last night that peace prevails. In the press conference, we ourselves raised slogans of 'Pakistan Murdabad'. We do not have any problem with it. We are against Pakistan or anyone in the country who betrays the country. But, the act of the MLA was wrong."

Congress MLA Rafeeq Khan said things are in control after last night's unrest. "Let people try as much, we will not let the environment spoil," he said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)