By: Express News ServiceAhmedabad | September 27, 2025 11:28 PM IST 3 min readThe Anjar Police had to face aggrieved crowds on two consecutive days over rumours surrounding the poster, which was put up a few days ago (Express Photo)Tension gripped Anjar city of Kutch in Gujarat after an ‘I Love Mohammad’ poster put up on a hoarding in Devaliya Naka area of the city was defaced on Friday with a piece of A4 size paper with ‘Jay Shri Ram’ written on it.The Anjar Police had to face aggrieved crowds on two consecutive days over rumours surrounding the poster, which was put up a few days ago.On Friday night, community leaders voluntarily removed the poster in the interest of peace, in a big relief for police.According to police, ‘I Love Mohammad’ poster was put up on hoarding in the Devaliya Naka area of Anjar a couple of days ago. Police officials said that the hoarding was perfectly legal.By Thursday evening, a rumour had been spread that the poster was being removed, leading to a large number of people gathering at the site.Kutch (East) SP Sagar Bagmar said, “Police explained that nobody will take down the billboard, leading to a dispersal of the crowd.”However, matters escalated again about 24 hours later, on Friday evening, after anonymous persons pasted an A4 size paper on the poster with ‘Jay Shri Ram’ written on it. With this, around 500 people from the community gathered at the site and then they moved to the police station, situated 3 km away, seeking action. Police promised to take action against those who defaced it.Story continues below this adLater in the night, the community which put up the ‘I Love Mohammad’ billboard, voluntarily removed it from the hoarding on Friday night, in the interest of peace.DySP Mukesh Chaudhary of Anjar said, “We are now trying to find out who defaced the poster.”SP Bagmar said that a police inquiry was underway to find the person(s) who had defaced the billboard. He, however, said no FIR has been filed in the matter. Police said security has been stepped up in the area.Meanwhile, Kutch (West) Police, headquartered in Bhuj, made a public appeal: “It is a humble appeal to the people that currently, across the country, ‘I Love Mohammad’ banners and posters have been put up and others are protesting against this on social media. It is hereby informed that putting up any post that hurts religious sentiments, or causes conflict between people of two religions, is a cognizable offence. Legal action will be taken against those making such posts. It is an appeal that people stay away from rumours, and maintain the peace.”Story continues below this adSP Kutch (West) Vikas Sunda said that the appeal had been issued as a precautionary measure. “The police are on alert on the ground. We are also monitoring social media posts that could lead to communal tensions,” the SP said.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:KutchProphet Mohammad