By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian Police Tuesday nabbed four of the 12 people allegedly involved in the Aug 28 protest when a severed head of a cow was displayed, trampled and spat upon to oppose location of a Hindu shrine.
The others, who have been identified, have been asked to come to the police station by the end of the day, failing which police would pick them up, Selangor state police chief Deputy Commissioner Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted as saying by Star Online, website of The Star newspaper.
“Several will be charged with illegal assembly, several under the Sedition Act and some with both,” he said.
The incident hit international headlines and caused concern among the Malaysian leadership that values its reputation as a multi-ethnic society.
It was a clear provocation for the Hindus who form a bulk of the nearly two million ethnic Indian population and earned widespread condemnation from the official quarters as well as the bar council and the human rights bodies.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak took the lead in urging Muslims, who form the majority population not to slur other faiths, particularly in the current holy Ramadan.
A blame-game has ensued with political parties accusing each of of their cadres participating in the protest.
The federal government leaders, who belong to the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) have blamed the opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat that rules in the Selangor state.
On Monday, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail said that those who protested against the relocation of 150-year-old Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Section 19 locality to Section 23 in Shah Alam, Selangor’s capital, would be hauled to court.
In the statement, he had said that “those who carried and spoke while stepping on the cow’s head would be charged under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act alternatively Section 298 of the Penal Code”.
“They, as well as the other demonstrators, will also be facing another charge under Section 27(5) of the Police Act 1967 for illegal assembly.”
The government Monday found another location for the temple heeding the protests with a view to avoiding further controversy.