Delhi locality tense after parking tiff turns communal; temple vandalised

Tension prevailed on Monday in old Delhi's Chawri Bazaar area after a fight over parking a scooter took a communal turn and a temple was vandalised in the locality, police said.

Security has been beefed up in the Lal Kuan locality to prevent any flare-up, they said.

The trouble began late on Sunday night when Aas Mohammad (20) was parking his scooter outside a building. Sanjeev Gupta, a resident of the building, who runs an eatery stall there, objected to it, witnesses said.

Gupta's wife Babita said when her husband objected to parking the vehicle near the stall, Mohammad left, but returned promptly with more men who were "probably drunk" and beat him up.

Saqib, a 27-year-old software engineer and a local resident, narrated a different version. "When Mohammad was beaten up, he and his other family members went to the police station and filed a case," he said.

A video surfaced online, which purportedly showed a man allegedly being beaten up by some people, who were suspected to be drunk, over a parking issue.

Senior police officials said three separate cases have been registered in connection with the incident. A case has been registered based on Mohammad's statement, the other case is based on the statement by Gupta and the third case was lodged against unknown persons for rioting and damaging public property.

"When Mohammad parked his scooter, Gupta asked him to move it somewhere else or he will set it on fire. Thereafter, a quarrel broke out and Gupta, along with some other person, took Mohammad inside the building and beat him up," said Aqib Hassan (25), who lives in the locality.

Meanwhile, the local residents called the Police Control Room and both Mohammad and Gupta were taken to the police station. "When Mohammad and Gupta were at the police station, some unknown people gathered outside the temple and vandalised it. This led to tension in the area," Saqib claimed.

The temple is located on the Durga Mandir Street, just across the place where the incident occurred.

Anil Kumar Pandey, the priest of the temple, said, "A mob came to the temple last night around 12am. They vandalised the temple and left the place."

On Monday, signs of vandalism were seen—the shutter of the temple was damaged and the idols were also defaced slightly.

During the day, the two sides raised slogans that added to the tension. Police have ramped up security to ensure law and order. Senior police officials and paramilitary personnel were at the spot.

"After some altercation and scuffle over a parking issue in Hauz Qazi, tension arose between two groups of people from different communities. We have taken legal action and all efforts are being made to pacify feelings and bring about amity. People are requested to help in restoring normalcy (sic)," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Mandeep Singh Randhawa, tweeted.

On Tuesday, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who is the MP for Chandni Chowk, visited Chawri Bazaar. Harsh Vardhan said, “The kind of thing done to the temple is unforgivable. I have been told that police is already in action, culprits will be arrested soon and punished. I appeal to the people to maintain harmony.”

Source