By IANS
New Delhi : Several people were injured here Thursday after activists of the Shiv Sena and a Muslim group attacked one another with stones and batons during observance of the 15th anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Violence broke at Jantar Mantar when some activists of the Shiv Sena allegedly started pelting stones at members of the All India Babri Masjid Rebuilding Committee (AIBRC), who were demanding reconstruction of the razed mosque and death penalty for those involved in the mosque’s demolition.
The Sena activists came to celebrate as Vijay Divas (Victory Day) the day when the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished 15 years ago by Hindu zealots.
According to the police, Shiv Saniks walked to the area where the AIBRC activists were holding a demonstration.
“Both sides (around 200-300 people) started shouting slogans. It seemed that Saniks got agitated first and some of them started pelting stones. Soon a fight broke out between them. The two groups attacked each other with batons and stones,” said a police official.
Additional policemen and riot control vehicles were pressed into service and a baton charge was made to disperse the agitated crowd. The activists were forced to leave.
Both groups blamed the other for instigating the clash.
The police said after some time the Shiv Saniks returned to Jantar Mantar – this time with more people. They turned violent when the police prevented them from entering the Jantar Mantar area. The police resorted to baton charge after the Sena activists damaged a police bus.
The police whisked the agitators to a nearby police station.
“We are in the process of registering an FIR,” said Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat, refusing to say how many people had been arrested for the violence.
“The situation is under control. The clash resulted in a traffic jam and we have cleared it,” he said.