Religious procession turns ugly, police clash with locals in Jor Bagh

New Delhi: A plush southern neighbourhood in Delhi was jolted by violent clashes between the police and public who wanted to enter a religious structure located on a piece of land that has been locked due to an ongoing case in the Delhi High Court.

On the occasion of Chehlum, a religious procession, the locals wanted to enter the mosque located on the disputed site. But attempts to break open the locked gate saw the police personnel allegedly use force to stop them. The clashes broke out at around 6 pm on Sunday.

The police maintains that it was the crowd that first began pelting stones at them. An accusation that has been denied by those present there.

The Indian Express quotes an eyewitness Shamshul Hassan saying, “This is the barbaric attitude of the police towards us. They threw teargas shells inside the mosque and also fired two shots in the air. It could have led to a stampede because everybody was scared and started running. Many people got injured in the lathicharge. Women and children could not see because of the teargas.

We did not pelt stones or hit them, it was the police who started to beat our boys with lathis. It could have resulted in a big tragedy.”

It also reports that 17 police personnel and 50 locals were injured in the clash.

The Hindustan Times reports the police confirming the use of tear gas shells. It quotes Amulya Patnaik, joint CP (southern range) saying “No one was detained let alone arrested. There was a disturbance initially but we communicated with the other side and things were normalized."

The clashes have left the residents of the locality in a daze. Speaking to reporters, they said they ‘locked themselves inside their homes’ while stones and teargas shells smashed on to their balconies.

According to news agency reports police personnel, including paramilitary forces – BSF and CRPF – have been deployed in the locality to maintain law and order.