New Delhi, 7 Jan

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 6 and 7 January. 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."

Five people arrested in the case have been identified as Mohd Arib (25), Mohd Kaif (23), Mohd Kashif (25), Mohd Hamid (30) and a juvenile.

CCTV footage and videos circulating on social media are being analysed to identify other involved, the police said.

The Additional CP said a banquet hall and a dispensary near the mosque, which were declared encroachments by the court, were to be demolished. Immediately after receiving intimation from the MCD, the police contacted local residents and informed them that the demolition was a legal action.

The police also took people of the area into confidence and received considerable cooperation from them, he added.

The FIR has been registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 221 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 132 (Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 121 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 191 (Rioting), 223 (A) (Disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 3(5) (Joint liability) and provisions of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

Kumar said around 36,000 square feet of encroached area was cleared during the drive.

The cleared area included a diagnostic centre, a banquet hall and two two-storey boundary walls, Kumar said, adding that the demolition continued through the night.

Kumar also clarified that no damage was caused to the mosque during the drive.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) Madhur Verma, in a statement, said, "The entire area was meticulously divided into nine zones, each placed under the supervision of an officer of the rank of additional deputy commissioner of police. Adequate deployment of police force was made at all sensitive points."

Prior to the demolition drive, several coordination meetings were held with members of the Aman Committee and other local stakeholders, with the objective of maintaining peace and preventing any untoward incident. All possible preventive and confidence-building measures were undertaken, he said.

"During the course of the demolition, a few miscreants attempted to create a disturbance by indulging in stone pelting. The situation was promptly brought under control through measured and minimal use of force, ensuring that normalcy was restored without escalation," he added.

"The situation is totally under control now. Heavy deployment has been made," the Joint CP said.

Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood called the incident "unfortunate" and warned that violence would not be tolerated.

"Obstructing or disrupting work being carried out within the framework of law is completely unacceptable," he said.

"I want to clearly state that the Faiz-e-Elahi mosque is completely safe. The action is limited only to those illegal commercial establishments that fall within the scope of the court's orders. There is no arbitrariness or mala fide intent on the part of the government in this matter," Sood stated.

The minister also appealed to the people not to fall prey to any kind of provocation.