2 men going to Valmiki Jayanti procession assaulted in Delhi’s Nand Nagri: Cops

Giving details of the case, officers said a group of men were driving through the neighbourhood, passing a local mosque while shouting slogans

Two Hindu men on motorcycles heading to a Valmiki Jayanti procession on Saturday evening were assaulted while passing through a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood at Nand Nagri in northeast Delhi, triggering communal tension in the area, police officers aware of the case said on Sunday.

Police said the incident occurred at around 6.30pm at Nand Nagri’s E-block — one of the areas affected by the February 2020 communal riots. (Representational image)

Police said the incident occurred at around 6.30pm at Nand Nagri’s E-block — one of the areas affected by the February 2020 communal riots.

Giving details of Saturday’s case, officers said a group of men were allegedly driving through the neighbourhood, passing a local mosque while shouting slogans. “An altercation ensued and during that, a group of people assaulted two men and also damaged their motorcycles. Both were taken to Guru Teg Bahadur hospital for medical attention,” deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said, identifying the victims as Ankit Kumar and Sidhu Kumar, both 19.

The DCP, however, noted that the incident was not connected to the Valmiki Jayanti procession. “The procession was properly covered at its head, tail and sides by two inspector-rank officers, local deployment, and nearly 25 personnel from the armed paramilitary forces. Also, there were no motorcycles in the procession. All participants were either on foot or on the jhankis,” he said.

The route Ankit, Sidhu and their friends took is never used for Valmiki Jayanti processions, as it is dominated by the Muslim community, said Tirkey, adding that efforts were on to identify the members of the group who assaulted the duo.