NEW DELHI, April 17: A total of 14 persons have been arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with Saturday’s Jahangirpuri communal clashes when a Hanuman Jayanti procession was attacked in the area, police said.
The deputy commissioner of police, Northwest, Usha Rangnani said a case had been lodged at Jahangirpuri Police Station under various IPC Sections pertaining to rioting, arson and criminal conspiracy.
The DCP added that nine persons, including eight police personnel and one civilian, were injured in the violence and were subsequently treated at a nearby hospital. “One Sub-Inspector sustained bullet injuries. His condition is stable,” the DCP said.
Among the arrested was Aslam, who, the police say, shot at Sub-Inspector Medalal Meena. A country-made pistol has been recovered from him. Another man, Ansar, who started the quarrel, has also been arrested, the police said.
On Saturday evening, clashes broke out in the area between members of two communities while the procession was being taken out. Several videos of the incident went viral showing persons brandishing swords. In the FIR, police have said the violence broke out after a person named Ansar, accompanied by some other men, allegedly started arguing with members of the procession which led to stone-pelting between the two sides.
Police personnel deployed at the spot managed to separate the two sides but after a few minutes, stone-pelting started again following which more police teams were called in to bring the situation under control. Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana and Union Home Minister Amit Shah took note of the incident on Saturday and assured strict prosecution against the accused.
PSI Meena, who was among the injured in last night’s violence, said the police had initially separated the two communities when altercation broke out between them outside a mosque in Jahangirpuri. The Hanuman Jayanti procession was made to go one way and the Muslims another but they came face to face after a while and the police were caught in between. Meena had sustained bullet injuries on hand…
Meena said he was on duty at the back of the procession but came to the front when the altercation started. “An argument started at the front, I went there. It turned into a brawl. Then stone throwing started in front of mosque. But the staff separated the two groups.
A meeting of the peace committee to discuss the way forward ended abruptly on Sunday after a BJP councillor blamed Illegal immigrants for the violence. Senior police officers Aman Committee members from Mahender Park, Jahangirpuri, and Adarsh Nagar, and BJP councillor Garima Gupta attended the meeting to talk about the way forward after the clash.
After Rangnani appealed for peace and called forward the Aman Committees, which comprises members from different communities, to take an active role in combating rumours and bringing forth peace in the area, Garima Gupta, the BJP councillor from Adarsh Nagar, asked the DCP for permission to speak. “I want to say this in open public. Ma’am, Hindus and Muslims have lived together in peace. The problem in our area, if I come straight to the point, is the Bangladeshi Muslims who have started living here,” said Gupta. As altercations broke out, the police dispersed the meeting.
Last week, communal clashes broke out in four states – Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal – during the celebrations of Ram Navami, the festival which marks the birth of Lord Ram.
(Manas Dasgupta)
