Durga Temple vandalised: Amit Shah reprimands Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik over Chandni Chowk communal flare up

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reportedly reprimanded the Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik over communal clashes in Old Delhi’s Hauz Qazi area which lead to a Durga temple in the area being vandalised. Patnaik was summoned by the home minister over the incident which started off with a trivial argument over the parking of a scooter but soon triggered communal tensions in the small area within Chandni Chowk on 30 June. Minutes after meeting Shah, Patnaik said he briefed the home minister about the developments of the case. “We had some incident which started over parking in Walled City area. The police has acted promptly and the situation is very well under control. It was a general briefing regarding that Chandni Chowk situation (with Shah). Four persons have already been arrested and legal action will be taken against culprits,” Patnaik told reporters in New Delhi. “This is about a particular group of criminals. CCTV footage which has been circulated and police teams are working on it. Persons will be identified and arrested soon,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_5213481” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of BJP president Amit Shah. PTI[/caption] Security personnel were deployed in the area after tensions heightened. The Delhi Police has registered three FIRs in this case - two cross FIRs, one lodged by each community, and one for vandalising the temple. Four persons, including a minor, have been arrested in the case. The trouble began when a 20-year-old resident of the area was parking his scooter outside a building. According to witnesses, a resident of the building, Sanjeev Gupta who runs an eatery stall there objected to it. Gupta said when Aas Mohammad parked his scooter outside the building, he asked him to remove it as it was blocking a path commonly used by people. “He, along with other persons who were drunk, started beating me. In the meantime, I called the police and narrated the incident. The police took me and Aas Mohammad to the police station where the issue of the scuffle was resolved,” Gupta told  News18. “I just want those who vandalised the temple to renovate it and help everyone to maintain peace in the locality as it was earlier,” he added. Apart from temple desecration, stones were also pelted in the area leading to a tense situation. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was moved in Delhi High Court on Wednesday in the wake of the incident. The petitioner, advocate Alakh Alok Shrivastava, sought a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe, duly monitored by the court, to thoroughly investigate the matter. The plea also prayed for initiation of stringent action and formulation of suitable guidelines in order to avoid such attacks on other religious places of worships in future, considering the wider ramifications of such attacks in ensuring communal harmony and peace in the society. Union Minister for Health and Family welfare and Chandni Chowk MP Harsh Vardhan had visited the area on Tuesday and appealed for peace and harmony. “After some altercation and scuffle over a parking issue in Hauz Qazi, tension arose between two groups of people from different communities. We have taken legal action and all efforts are being made to pacify feelings and bring about amity. People are requested to help in restoring normalcy,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central Delhi had tweeted after the clashes. With inputs from ANI