5 cops injured in clash during demolition drive near mosque

Violence erupted during an anti-encroachment drive near the Faiz-e-Elahi mosque in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan area early Wednesday, with some people pelting stones at police personnel, leaving five of them injured.

Police used mild force and teargas to quell the protest that broke out on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday and took five people, including a juvenile, into custody.

Police sources said the trouble broke out after a social media post claimed that the mosque was being demolished during the anti-encroachment drive.

Soon after, several people gathered there, and some pelted stones and glass bottles at the police and MCD workers, the sources said.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), on the Delhi High Court's direction, was carrying out a demolition drive on land adjoining the mosque and a nearby graveyard at Turkman Gate.

Some commercial establishments, including a diagnostic centre and banquet hall, were demolished during the drive, MCD Deputy Commissioner Vivek Kumar said while making it clear that no damage was caused to the mosque.

The police said when the drive was underway, around 100-150 people gathered at the site. While most of them dispersed after being persuaded, some created a ruckus and resorted to stone-pelting, resulting in injuries to five police personnel.

They are probing whether the violence was spontaneous or a pre-planned attempt to disrupt the drive, the police said.

The Delhi Police, in a statement, said that teargas was used to disperse the crowd, after which the situation was brought under control and normalcy restored.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Central) Nidhin Valsan said MCD, which owns the land, scheduled the demolition for the intervening night of January 6 and 7. They had informed the police in advance about the proposed drive and sought deployment of force for maintaining law and order.

The Additional CP said most people dispersed after being persuaded. However, some tried to create a ruckus and resorted to stone-pelting, in which five policemen sustained minor injuries and were given medical treatment.

A police source said, "One of the videos that triggered the controversy was allegedly recorded by a person named Khalid Malik, who urged people to step out of their homes in large numbers. Rumours were circulated that bulldozers had been deployed to demolish a mosque, which fuelled tension in the area."