A clash erupted during a tazia (mourning) procession on the occasion of Muharram in west Delhi’s Nangloi on Saturday after a section of the crowd allegedly deviated from the designated route, the police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Harendra K. Singh said the procession near Surajmal Stadium was largely peaceful. However, around 5.45 p.m., some people led by one or two organisers started deviating from the route decided in earlier meetings and became unruly with police personnel.
“Some miscreants started pelting stones at the policemen. To control the situation and protect the public, we resorted to lathi-charge to disperse them. The situation is now peaceful and traffic movement has been restored,” he added. According to a senior officer, an FIR has been registered against unknown persons under IPC sections pertaining to rioting, obstructing public servants from discharging their duties and others.
The DCP said six personnel and six civil defence volunteers, five of whom were women, sustained minor injuries and were sent for medical examination. He added that no arrests have been made so far but an investigation is under way.
The police said that videos of the incident, which have gone viral on social media, and CCTV footage of the area are being scanned to identify the culprits. Some private vehicles, buses and police vans were vandalised in the clash, they added.
