The band appeared live at the Battle of the Bands in Srinagar in December |
Police in Indian-administered Kashmir have arrested three people for making online threats to members of an all-girl rock group.
On Tuesday, one of the band members queried why they had been criticized when male bands were allowed to perform.
She told the BBC that their intention was not to disrespect Islam.
The teenager confirmed reports that the group, Pragaash, had disbanded.
The girls said they had received abuse and hate mail on Facebook since they made their first live appearance at the Battle of the Bands music festival in Srinagar in December.
Police later said they had registered a case and began investigations into allegedly intimidating comments posted on Facebook against the group.
"I'm glad the police in Kashmir have identified and arrested two people for the online threats made to the girls," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday morning.
"I'm told more arrests [are] possible," he added.
A little later, police confirmed to the BBC that a third man had been arrested and that they were looking for a fourth man.
'Indecent behavior'
On Sunday the Muslim-majority state's grand mufti criticized the girl band for what he said was indecent behavior.
"When girls and young women stray from the rightful path... this kind of non-serious activity can become the first step towards our destruction," Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad said in a statement.
However, many others have leapt to the girls' defense.
Support for the band has poured in from all over the state and elsewhere in India, where the story has been headline news.
Jammu and Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state and has been the scene of a violent insurgency against Indian rule since 1989.
The region has a long history of women dancing and singing in public at festivals and marriages, even though some clerics oppose such behavior.
On Tuesday, one of the band members queried why they had been criticized when male bands were allowed to perform.
She told the BBC that their intention was not to disrespect Islam.
The teenager confirmed reports that the group, Pragaash, had disbanded.
The girls said they had received abuse and hate mail on Facebook since they made their first live appearance at the Battle of the Bands music festival in Srinagar in December.
Police later said they had registered a case and began investigations into allegedly intimidating comments posted on Facebook against the group.
"I'm glad the police in Kashmir have identified and arrested two people for the online threats made to the girls," Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday morning.
"I'm told more arrests [are] possible," he added.
A little later, police confirmed to the BBC that a third man had been arrested and that they were looking for a fourth man.
'Indecent behavior'
On Sunday the Muslim-majority state's grand mufti criticized the girl band for what he said was indecent behavior.
"When girls and young women stray from the rightful path... this kind of non-serious activity can become the first step towards our destruction," Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad said in a statement.
However, many others have leapt to the girls' defense.
Support for the band has poured in from all over the state and elsewhere in India, where the story has been headline news.
Jammu and Kashmir is India's only Muslim-majority state and has been the scene of a violent insurgency against Indian rule since 1989.
The region has a long history of women dancing and singing in public at festivals and marriages, even though some clerics oppose such behavior.
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