Days after communal clashes hit north-west Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, the area around the Muslim-majority C-Block was turned into a fortress on Thursday with at least 400 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel holding guard in the localities.
The road opposite Kushal Cinema, housing the Jama Masjid, whose gates were demolished during a demolition drive on Wednesday, was heavily barricaded with the entry of outsiders also being restricted. None of the shops near the mosque was allowed to open.
The roundabout separating the Hindu-majority H and G blocks from the C-Block was heavily barricaded with at least half-a-dozen police and CRPF personnel in anti-riot gear. Exit gates of some of the bylanes of C-block were also being guarded by the police in order to restrict outsiders’ entry. Several police vans and riot-control vehicles were also seen stationed across the area.
On Wednesday, an anti-encroachment drive was carried out by North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) in Jahangirpuri, where several shops were destroyed or demolished using bulldozers. The drive was only halted after the Supreme Court ordered maintaining of status quo.
On April 16, communal violence had broken out during a ‘shobha yatra’ on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, which eventually led to stone-pelting and instances of vandalism between the two communities.
