India News | Uneasy Calm, Heavy Police Presence in Jahangirpuri a Day After Violence

New Delhi, Apr 17 (PTI) An uneasy calm prevailed in Jahangirpuri's C Block on Sunday, a day after violence broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.

Shops and markets near the Jahangirpuri metro station were functioning as usual on Sunday and there was a heavy police deployment in C Block, the epicentre of the violence that left eight police personnel and a local injured.

Also Read | Online Fraud in Pune: Senior Citizen Duped of Rs 5.9 Lakh on Pretext of Updating KYC.

Sheikh Amzad, a resident of C Block, said he was inside the mosque in C Block when the violence broke out on Saturday evening.

"They (participants of Hanuman Jayanti procession) were chanting 'Jai Shri Ram' and raising provocative slogans. They forcibly entered the mosque and started tying saffron flags in its premises. They were threatening us with swords...That's when stone pelting began. Such an incident has never before happened in Jahangirpuri," Amzad told PTI.

Also Read | ‘COVID-19 Spread’ Increased by 500% in Last 15 Days Among Delhi-NCR Residents, Claims Survey.

Amzad claimed that nearly 50 people forcibly entered the mosque.

Security has been beefed up in and around C and D blocks near the mosque. Barricades have been put up and police personnel deployed at every 200 metres. Despite this, shops around the mosque were all shut.

Manoj Kumar said he was at his shop in C Block when the violence broke out.

"I saw people screaming and rushing inside their houses...Previously I have seen verbal altercations between the communities here. People in the procession were carrying weapons but stone pelting was done by Muslims first,” Kumar claimed.

According to the police, there was stone-pelting and arson during the clashes between the two communities. Some vehicles were also torched.

The Delhi Police has arrested 14 people over the violence.

Mukesh, a shopkeeper who stays at C Block near the mosque, said those who tried to disrupt peace in the area must have been outsiders.

"I have been staying here for last 35 years but have never seen such kind of violence in this area. Hindus and Muslims live here peacefully. People who were in the procession must be outsiders and not Jahangirpuri locals,” Mukesh said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)