6 cops among 12 hurt after violence during Muharram processions in Delhi

Three cases were registered after an unruly crowd taking part in Muharram processions clashed with the police and pelted them with stones in west Delhi's Nangloi, officials said on Sunday.

Twelve people, including six police personnel, were injured in the clashes, they said.

The first FIR was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act at Nangloi police station on the complaint of Nangloi SHO Prabhu Dayal.

The incident in this case occurred at Surajmal Stadium, deputy commissioner of police (outer) Harendra Singh said.

The second FIR was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by Nanag Ram, the law and order inspector at Nangloi police station, for an incident at Nangloi Chowk, Singh said.

The third FIR was registered on the complaint of Mukesh Kumar, a head constable, for an incident near the metro station at Nangloi. All three cases were registered on Sunday, he added.

In the first FIR, Dayal said several tazia processions were scheduled in Nangloi on Saturday.

There were meetings conducted with the organisers regarding the route and other issues.

Apart from Nangloi police station of the Outer district, meetings were held with Prem Nagar and Aman Vihar police stations in Rohini district.

It was decided that the processions would proceed towards Surajmal Stadium via the metro station, take a u-turn from the Nangloi depot red light and return to their designated place, it said.

From 12 pm on Saturday, various processions were approaching from different areas following the predetermined route, the FIR stated.

Around 5 pm, some processions from the Prem Nagar and Aman Vihar areas of Rohini district crossed the Kirari Gate and reached the front of Surajmal Stadium via Rohtak Road.

Upon reaching the site, instead of following the pre-decided route, some people tried to enter the stadium and started pushing and shoving, it added.

As there was no permission to enter the stadium, they were stopped. The Nangloi SHO, along with other officers and staff, tried to pacify them but they started fighting, it further said.

The procession organisers stood on rickshaws and carts and started instigating the people to go inside the stadium.

Some of these people had weapons such as swords, knives, sticks and iron rods, the FIR stated.

"On our refusal, the organisers and their supporters started pelting stones at the police. One of them, having a knife in his hand, attacked sub-inspector Parveen, on which Parveen grabbed the knife in order to save himself and received injury," it added.

There was heavy traffic, including buses, cars, two-wheelers and pedestrians, on Rohtak Road during this time. The stone pelting posed a danger to lives and property, according to the FIR.

The unruly mob was initially warned and later dispersed by the police with mild lathicharge in order to protect lives and property, it said.

During this, the police personnel and volunteers also suffered injuries.

Vehicles of the police and the Delhi Transport Corporation were also damaged.

The injured police personnel and other people were sent to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri for treatment, it added.

According to the police, several stones were found on the spot.

Singh said the police are checking CCTV footage from the area and analysing videos of the incidents that were widely circulated on social media on Saturday.

Several teams have been constituted to identify the perpetrators and initiate legal action against them. The situation is normal and law and order is being maintained, he added.

A section of people taking out Muharram processions on Saturday clashed with the police and pelted them with stones, injuring 12 and damaging several vehicles, after they were stopped from changing the designated route in Nangloi, officials had said.

The police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the "unruly crowd", they had said.

Singh said on Saturday, "Several 'tazia' processions were being carried out in the Nangloi area and around eight to ten thousand people participated in those. One or two organisers on the main Rohtak Road became unruly and tried to deviate from the route that was mutually decided in the coordination meeting with the taziadaran."

The police made efforts to convince them to stick to the pre-decided route and proceed to the designated burials. While most of them cooperated, a few miscreants became unruly and started instigating the public and resorted to stone pelting, he had said.

According to Singh, "To ensure the safety and security of passers-by, which included women, children and motorists, the unruly mob was dispersed by the police with the mild use of lathicharge and order was restored immediately. They were dispersed from the area. The 'tazia' processions were subsequently conducted peacefully in the area as per customs and religious practices."

Six police personnel and six volunteers, including five women, suffered minor injuries while some police vehicles were damaged in the stone pelting.