The Hindu : New Delhi News : One long evening of violence in Jamia area

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Sunday, Sep 23, 2007
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New Delhi

One long evening of violence in Jamia area

Staff Reporter

Cops bear the brunt as anti-encroachment drive takes an ugly turn

– PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT

UNEASY CALM: Police keep up vigil in Delhi’s Jamia area on Saturday night.

NEW DELHI: More than a dozen policemen were injured, two of them critically, when a huge mob attacked the Jamia police post in South Delhi on Friday evening protesting against alleged disrespect shown by police personnel to Muslim holy texts during an anti-encroachment drive.

The trouble apparently broke out when at around 7 p.m. some police personnel were clearing handcarts away from a road at Batla House in the Jamia area to allow vehicles to pass through. In the process, some religious books kept on one of the carts fell down and this led to a protest by some vendors. The situation soon took a violent turn as people alleged that the police personnel had shown disrespect to the religious texts.

Some people then attacked the police personnel, and later as the violence grew, a mob attacked the Jamia police post from two sides, taking the dozen-odd personnel posted there completely by surprise. The mob ransacked the police post and later torched it.

According to eyewitnesses, the police fired in the air but were unable to stop the attackers, who were in their hundreds. Later the mob also torched the Sahin Bagh police post in the Sarita Vihar police station area.

The injured policemen were admitted to Apollo Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and All-India Institute of Medical Sciences.

Reinforcements were rushed to the trouble spot and the police resorted to tear-gas to disperse the crowd which hurled stones at them. Pitched battles continued in various adjoining localities until late in the evening.

The situation turned so critical that half a dozen companies of reserve police were rushed to the area to prevent the violence from spreading further. A large number of police vehicles, including Vajra anti-riot vehicles, were deployed in the area and Joint Commissioner of Police (Southern Range) was sent to control the situation.

Late at night Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said Police Commissioner Y. S. Dadwal was personally monitoring the situation. “It is a law and order situation but some people tried to give it a communal colour. The police personnel are agitated that their colleagues have been attacked but they are trying to defuse the situation,” she added.

Ms. Dikshit said she had also requested local MLA Pervez Hashmi to intervene and pacify all concerned. The Chief Minister is expected to visit the area on Sunday. The Naib Imam of Jama Masjid, Ahmed Bukhari, visited the area and appealed for peace.

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