Meerut/Lucknow: Former UP minister and BSP leader Haji Yakub Qureshi has been booked in connection with his controversial remarks defending the terror attack on a French satirical magazine even as Muslim scholars slammed him for resorting to "cheap publicity gimmick".

As the scholars demanded strict action against Qureshi, Uttar Pradesh police today said it would seek permission of the court before probing the case registered against him.