By IANS
New Delhi : The police fired in the air to disperse Gujjar mobs in Haryana protesting the killing of over 20 members of the community in Rajasthan even as demonstrations took place in the Indian capital too.
Around 300 protestors gathered in the morning at Ankhir Chowk of Haryana's Faridabad town bordering New Delhi and stoned and set a police van in the area on fire, police sources said.
The infuriated mob, which shouted slogans against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundara Raje, also torched some Delhi Transport Corp (DTC) buses plying between New Delhi and Faridabad, causing huge traffic snarls, the sources said.
It was the third straight day of Gujjar protests in and around New Delhi. Gujjars live in large numbers in northern India, in particular in Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
The trouble in Rajasthan erupted Tuesday when police fired at Gujjars demanding the classification of the community as tribal in order to get better employment and educational opportunities.
"We had to open fire to prevent the crowds from torching more public property," a police official told IANS over telephone from Faridabad.
"We have deployed a large number of security personnel as the situation is still tense," he added.
Gujjars also took to the streets in Khajoori Khas locality in northeast Delhi and pelted stones at the police.
Similar incidents were reported from Gurgaon in Haryana and Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh. All these are satellite towns adjoining the national capital.