NEW DELHI: Areas around Govindpuri,
Alaknanda and Tughlaqabad in south Delhi turned into a battlefield on Wednesday
evening when thousands of Dalit activists, who had tried to lay siege on the
site where a temple was demolished, went on the rampage in the residential
colonies and clashed with residents, passersby and cops.
At least five people including two policemen were admitted to hospital with injuries, while 20 others, including some residents, suffered wounds while trying to flee the troubled spots.
Police said the area around Sant
Ravidas temple in Tughlaqabad would remain out of bound even for locals until
the situation normalises
Joint commissioner, (southern range) Devesh Srivasatava said 67 protesters were
detained for pelting stones or vandalising vehicles. More arrests are likely.
Sources say Bhim Army founder Chandrashekhar Azad too was detained during the
protest. Cops have recovered a pistol from the scene and are verifying its
ownership. A CRPF constable in civil clothes was also caught for inciting the
mob.
Police officers say that at least 20 vehicles, including TOI's official car,
were vandalised. The TOI reporter covering the protest was also attacked with a
wooden log and a brick.
The drama started unfolding around 4pm when a group of Dalit activists who had
gathered at the Ramlila Maidan began marching towards Tughlaqabad.
Police use force as 4,000 agitators break barricade
We had to resort to mild force as the protesters suddenly turned violent when
they were asked to turn away. We are assessing the damage. We will identify
other offenders using the CCTV footages," said Mandeep Singh Randhawa,
spokesperson for the Delhi Police.
When the cops dissuaded the protesters, they dispersed but gathered again in
small numbers near Nizamuddin. Police had set up barricades near Ashram Chowk
and then at Maa Anand Mayi Marg to stop them from reaching the site of the
demolished Ravi Das temple at the Jahapanah forest. However, they mixed among
the locals to avoid being stopped by the police.
The main drama began around 6pm when a sprawling crowd of more than 4,000
protesters broke one layer of barricade after another when police tried to stop
them from getting close to the temple that was demolished 10 days ago.
They approached the site, which had been cordoned off by the Delhi Police. The
cops present there said that the news of the protesters coming to Tughlaqabad
had reached them late and they were least prepared to handle the massive crowd.
However, several police officers were asked to call in their teams and more
than 600 policemen covered the area in the next one hour. A fourlayer barricade
was set up by the police, two of which were broken by the protesters.
The protestors started pelting stones at the police teams as soon as the latter
tried to stop them. After breaking one barricade, they started running towards
the next one bypassing the cops who tried to use force to stop them.
Around 6.45pm when, after breaking through the second barricade, the crowd
tried to cross the third. But since the third barricade was the most heavily
protected, the crowd went berserk and made human chains. There was chaos
thereafter.
The next half-an-hour was spent trying to calm down the protesters, who by now
were running in all directions, crossing fences and hitting
whosoever was coming in their way. Many of them were carrying thick wooden
sticks, which they used on several policemen and residents who happened to be
there.
Around 7pm, police started using tear gas shells but the stone-pelting
continued.
While there was a group of men engaging the police at the third barricade, a
large number of protesters went on a rampage and started running towards the
first barricade, where more than 200 residents were standing.
The protesters smashed the windshields and window panes of 20 cars parked along
the road. Seeing the agitated crowd, the locals started to run haywire to save
their lives. A few residents even opened the gates of their houses for the
locals. One of the bikes parked with the cars was set on fire.
"We are being tortured ever since the temple has been demolished. The shops are
forcefully being shut down and this is deterring us from sending our children
to schools. Till when will this go on? Today, we are attacked by hooligans and
police were not being able to do anything," said Amit Kaushik, a local
resident.
The protesters were forced to recede after several rounds of tear gas shelling.
A few of them were detained as well. The situation, however, remained tense
when this report was being filed late on Wednesday night.
Police said the area would remain out of bound even for locals on Thursday
until the situation normalises. Prohibitory orders have been issued around the
area.
Source: Times of India
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