IBNS-CMEDIA; At least five people were injured after miscreants pelted stones during an anti-encroachment drive close to a mosque located in Old Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan area on Wednesday, media reports said.
Police were forced to use tear gas to disperse the crowd and bring the situation under control.
Tension escalated when around 300 officials and workers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) launched a demolition drive on land located near the Syed Faiz Elahi mosque.
According to officials, a group of 25–30 people allegedly attacked police teams with stones, resulting in minor injuries to five personnel.
“We had to use tear gas to control the situation. A banquet hall and a dispensary were demolished during the drive. The operation was carried out at night to ensure minimal inconvenience to the public,” senior police officer Nidhin Valsan told NDTV.
He said that action would be taken against those involved in the stone-pelting incident.
The demolition drive was conducted a day after the Delhi High Court issued notice on a petition filed by the managing committee of Masjid Syed Elahi. The petition challenges the MCD’s decision to remove what it described as alleged encroachments on land adjoining the mosque.
