The police in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar district have detained 30 persons after a group of Muslims protested against graffiti with the message “I love Muhammad” painted on a road, PTI reported on Monday.

Demonstrators on Monday blocked the arterial Ahilyanagar-Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Road, even though one person had been arrested for the graffiti, the news agency quoted an unidentified official as saying.

“Even as police urged them to maintain law and order, some persons from the mob started pelting stones,” the official said. “Police resorted to lathi-charge to restore normalcy.”

A video of the graffiti was widely shared on social media on Sunday night, sparking protests on Monday, The Indian Express reported.

Ahilyanagar Superintendent of Police Somnath Gharge said that action was being taken against the accused persons, according to The Indian Express. “The situation is under control,” he said. “Citizens must not believe in or spread rumours.”

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the authorities will investigate if there is a conspiracy to disturb peace by putting up boards and signage.

“Everyone is free to practice their own religion but not to indulge in polarisation,” he said, according to PTI.

In Uttar Pradesh, a controversy surrounding banners saying “I love Muhammad” erupted earlier this month after Hindu groups objected to such posters during an Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi procession in Kanpur. The police claimed that government rules prohibit introducing new customs into religious processions, and filed cases against 24 persons for allegedly disturbing communal harmony.

However, the police action sparked protests and processions with “I love Muhammad” banners in other districts of Uttar Pradesh and other states. Some of the protests led to clashes with the police, leading to cases being filed.

Till September 23, a total of 1,324 persons had been booked in 21 such first information reports across the country, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights said. Thirty-eight Muslims had been arrested in these cases, the civil rights collective said. One of these arrests took place in Mumbai’s Byculla area.

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