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Jahangirpuri in Delhi on high alert as processions pass peacefully
Police said it deployed 600 personnel and as many paramilitary jawans along the route of the procession, referred to as Shobha Yatra by VHP
Hundreds of people on Thursday carried out a procession led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to mark the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti in north-west Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, where a year ago clashes took place between Hindu and Muslim communities over a similar event.
Police said it deployed 600 personnel and as many paramilitary jawans along the route of the procession, referred to as Shobha Yatra by VHP.
This comes a week after a procession was taken out in the neighbourhood to mark the occasion of Ram Navami last Thursday and a year after communal violence erupted in the area during a Shobha Yatra at the time.
“We strategically deployed our personnel to ensure the procession was well-regulated, and ensured members of all communities were confident that people cannot take law and order into their hands,” said Dependra Pathak, special commissioner of police for law and order. On Thursday, the neighbourhood witnessed two processions one after the other and at a distance of a kilometre from each other.
The police divided this area into six zones and tasked a deputy commissioner of police (DCP) to handle law and order in each zone. Three layers of barricading ensured controlled flow of people even as police and paramilitary personnel kept a watch on the numerous lanes leading to the venue. Police presence was also seen on top of buildings along with surveillance by drones.
The first procession was in the H Block and was organised by a local shopkeeper at 10am. However, police said the gathering saw only about 150 people and was carried out within a 200-metre stretch. The participants in this procession, however, were not satisfied with the distance allowed and protested against the police by donning black bands.
“The second procession, led by VHP, was held in E Block from 2pm, where the crowd converged rapidly. There were some 3,000-4,000 people as various groups turned up in large numbers,” said Pathak.
“Before these arrangements were made, we met senior members of the two religious communities to take the local population into confidence,” said Pathak.
However, local religious leaders as well as members of the procession did not conceal their displeasure. “It cannot be the case that the Hindu community cannot take a procession through a Muslim neighbourhood, but vice versa is allowed,” said a speaker from a stage.
When the procession finally hit the roadblock and the gathering came face-to-face with paramilitary forces and barricades, the police convinced VHP’s Delhi prant mantri, Surender Gupta, to call off the yatra. “Each time our yatra is stopped, the number of such yatras as well as the attendees will only multiply. The Shobha Yatra will go on till the place we want,” Gupta said. However, the yatra eventually ended around 4.30pm with a group chant of the Hanuman Chalisa.
Members of the Muslim community watched from the sidelines. “We would have liked to be a part of the celebrations, but neither are we now invited to such festivities nor do our elders want us to leave the safety of our homes,” said Nasir Ahmed, a resident of the area.
