The Nangloi police station in Delhi has registered 3 First Information Reports in relation to stone-pelting on the police and the common public during a Muharram procession on Saturday. They are looking through the vicinity’s CCTV cameras to identify the assailants after launching a case.
The first FIR has been registered under sections 147, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 186, 323, 324, 332, 353, 307 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code and the relevant sections of Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act on the complaint of Nangloi SHO Prabhu Dayal. The second FIR has been 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. 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 FIRs were registered on Sunday, a day after the incident. After registering the FIRs, the police started to identify the culprits based on footage captured by CCTV cameras installed at the area.
It is notable that a sudden ruckus broke out in a Muharram procession in the Nangloi neighbourhood of outer Delhi on 29 July which ended up in the injury of multiple policemen and the general public, after youths participating in the procession started attacking police. 12 people including 6 policemen were injured in the stone pelting.
The first FIR based on NangloiStation House Officer (SHO) Prabhu Dayal’s statement states that the police pushed attendees in the Tazia (paying condolences, homage and respect to the deceased) march when they started deviating from the predetermined pathway. The crowd then began pressurising to proceed to Maharaja Surajmal Stadium even though they didn’t have any permit to go there.
The FIR states that in meetings held with Tazia organisers, it was decided that the procession will proceed towards Surajmal Stadium via the metro station, take a U-turn from the Nangloi depot red light and return to their designated place. During the entire day, various Muharram processions were taken out following the designated routes. But in the evening, 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. From there, instead of proceeding on designated routes, some people tried to deviate, pushing and shoving their way ahead.
According to the police, over ten thousand individuals gathered by that time. While it carried on peacefully, some unruly elements began leading it off the designated route and attempted to force their way into the Maharaja Surajmal Stadium which is close to the Maharaja Surajmal Stadium Metro Station.
The police attempted to stop them since they did not have authorisation to enter the facility and locked the stadium gates. Enraged at this, the Muslim youths in the Muharram procession started a ruckus and argued with the police. The cops on duty asked them not to deviate from the route and tried to pacify them, but the youths started to fight instead.
The procession organisers stood on carts and rikshaws and started instigating people to enter the stadium. The people in the procession were encouraged by the organisers to make their way to the stadium for refreshments that arrived on six to seven carts. Many of them were carrying weapons such as swords, knives, sticks and iron rods, the FIR stated.
When police stood their ground and didn’t allow them to enter the stadium, they attacked the police and began hurling stones. They also pelted stones at moving buses on the road and damaged police vehicles.
Many youngsters were seen chucking stones in videos of the area that came to light. They flung stones at persons crossing the street. Stones were also tossed at the windows of passing buses, which frightened the passengers inside them. Hundreds of youths were spotted running. People closed their stores and left in view of the escalating trouble. Police lathi-charged the offenders and close the market in order to settle things down.
“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,” the FIR states. It adds that there were heavy traffic on the Rohtak road and the stone pelting posed a danger to lives and property.
Numerous police officers and passersby were wounded as a result of the violence. The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and vehicles plying on the road, including those of the police also sustained damages due to the attack.
The police sensed the gravity of the situation and used force in order to deter the miscreants from throwing stones. Lathi-charge was used to disperse the mob. There was a traffic gridlock on Nangloi Rohtak Road caused due to the instance. The atmosphere returned to normal as a result of their intervention and later more police force was deployed to maintain law and order.
Senior police officials of many districts also reached the location and the Joint Commissioner of Police assessed the entire episode. Things were back to usual by the evening, but the police force continued to be in the area.
