Hours after hearing in Delhi high court, bulldozers at Turkman Gate

The developments began on Tuesday, around 3:30pm, when the high court issued a notice to the MCD and other requisite agencies

The events of at central Delhi’s Turkman Gate unfolded quickly overnight, with stone pelting by some local residents triggering a lathi charge and tear-gas shelling by the police, ending finally Wednesday morning with the arrest of five people. By this time, authorities had razed a banquet hall, a private diagnostics centre and a room where Haj pilgrims stayed, portions of a road, a footpath, and a car park.

Authorities had razed a banquet hall, a private diagnostics centre and a room where Haj pilgrims stayed, portions of a road, a footpath, and a car park. (Vipin Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

The developments began on Tuesday, around 3:30pm, when the high court issued notice a notice to the MCD and other requisite agencies in a petition by the managing committee of Masjid Syed Elahi challenging the MCD’s decision to remove the encroachments, abutting the century-old mosque.The mosque committee contended that the property in question was being used by it and lease rent was paid to the Delhi Waqf Board.

According to police, by 10:30 pm, 32 bulldozers had reached the spot, ready to demolish the encroachments. Assessing the possibility of tensions, police said, security was deployed, starting around 11pm. This included nine additional commissioners of police, 25 assistant commissioners in nine zones, about 800 personnel from local police, and 10 companies of paramilitary forces. Locals also started gathering around the mosque by 11:30 pm.

“Around 1am, we decided to carry out the demolition and asked locals to leave the premises. We told them on the loudspeakers to leave. About 150 of them had gathered and they were raising slogans. However, about 25-30 people started pelting stones at police,” a senior police officer said.

According to police, the stone pelting continued till about 1:20 am. “Tear gas shells were used to disperse the crowd. JCBs were called in and demolition began around 1:30am,” the officer said.

However, locals contested police’s version of events and said that while locals were protesting and raising slogans, police used tear gas shells to disperse the crowds first and the stone pelting was retaliatory.

Mohammed Zuhaib, 43, who runs a shop in the neighbourhood and lives about 30 metres away from the mosque, alleged that police threw tear gas shells into people’s houses on the residential street. “Till 3:30am, they must have used at least 50 tear gas shells. My children couldn’t sleep all night and they had a headache and watery eyes,” he said.

According to Mohammed Shehzad, a 48-year-old, a member of the Aman Committee, a local group, most of the stone pelters were “outsiders” and only a few may have been locals. “Meetings were being held for a week with the police. On Monday, they showed us a map showing what all will be demolished and assured us that the mosque will not be touched. The information was then shared with locals and they were told to cooperate with the police. And they did. A few outsiders probably came here and created disturbance,” he said.

Zuhaib said that people are impacted in the area because the dispensary, which offered consultations for cheaper, was demolished. “My mother is undergoing treatment for depression. I used to take her to a doctor in south Delhi where the consultation was ₹2,500. A psychiatrist eventually started visiting here in this dispensary and I took my mother here. The consultation was ₹50.”

Locals said that the dispensary charged ₹100 for dialysis and X-Ray each.

MCD spokesperson, however, said that the MCD is a licensee of the Ramleela Ground under Land & Development Office (L&DO), Government of India. On a complaint, MCD conducted a survey of encroachment of Ramleela Ground in coordination with officers of L&DO and DDA. “The survey revealed that the encroachment of approximately 36,428 sq.ft. of Ramleela Ground by way of a banquet hall and other commercial activities including a private diagnostic centre. The survey also revealed the encroachment of road and footpath.”

Families deny involvement of those arrested

On Wednesday, police registered an FIR on charges of rioting and arrested five men – Mohammed Kashif, his brother Mohammed Kaif, Mohammed Areeb, Mohammed Adnan and Mohammed Sameer, all between 20 and 30, and residents of the neighbouring Chandni Mahal and Darya Ganj areas.

When HT spoke to them, the family members of Adnan, Kashif and Kaif said both were picked before the clash took place and without proper evidence.

A cousin of Adnan said that, at around 12:30am, Adnan had been at home, taking care of his father who was ill.

“From there only the police took him to the Daryaganj Police Station for enquiry. We were informed by the police that Adnan had forwarded some message on WhatsApp that said ‘police have come to the Masjid’. We don’t know much about the messages as his phone has been seized by the police,” the cousin said on the condition of anonymity.

Maternal uncle of Kashif and Kaif, the other two accused in the matter, said they were picked up by the police from the street. “We spoke over the phone that the atmosphere is unsafe and decided that the family should stay the night at their maternal grandmother’s place. Both Kashif and Kaif along with their mother and sister were on their way when they were picked up by the police in the same locality,” said the maternal uncle of the two accused.