Srinagar, Sept. 8 -- At least 50 persons have been detained for questioning in connection with the damage to plaque with the Ashoka emblem in the Hazratbal shrine here as cops intensified searches for those involved in the incident on Sunday. "No one has been formally arrested so far but some people are being questioned," said a senior police official in the know of the matter. The police checked the videos and CCTV footage of the incident that occurred after the Friday congregational prayers, following which these people were quizzed, he added. The official said action "as per law will also be taken against women who vandalised the plaque but any minor found involved in the incident will not be proceeded against". The incident has triggered a major controversy in Kashmir, with political parties accusing waqf board chief Darakshan Andrabi of hurting religious sentiments by using the national emblem in the mosque. They demanded registration of a criminal case and her immediate removal. Srinagar MP Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi expressed concern "over people being detained and quizzed" by police. "I am deeply anguished to learn that many individuals have been detained and quizzed by police in connection with the Hazratbal incident. I strongly condemn this act of operational retribution at a time when statesmanship demanded an approach of reconciliation and empathy from the administration," said Mehdi, who is also a National Conference leader, in a statement. Lashing out at the waqf board, NC president Farooq Abdullah said the controversy at the Hazratbal shrine could have been avoided had the plaque with the Ashoka emblem not installed at the shrine dedicated to Prophet Muhammad. "There was no need to install the plaque. They put it up and people did not like it," Farooq Abdullah said. The former chief minister emphasised that Hazratbal and other shrines were built through the contributions of the people, not as favours from anyone. "When Sher-e-Kashmir (Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah) oversaw the construction, he did not put any board on the shrine because it was dedicated to Allah and His Prophet," he said. When asked about the FIR registered over the vandalisation of the emblem, Abdullah stated, "They need to understand that what they did was wrong, and the people will not tolerate such actions. We are a peace-loving community, and they should know that they made a mistake," he added. Earlier, CM Omar Abdullah demanded an apology from the waqf board for the "mistake," asserting that the national emblem is meant for government functions, not religious institutions. While parties like the NC, PDP and the CPI(M) said the use of the Ashoka emblem in the mosque was "provocative" and blasphemous, the BJP slammed the defacement of the plaque, claiming the incident was an attempt to revive terrorism and separatism in the Valley....