By IANS
Faridabad/New Delhi : Violence in Rajasthan caused by Gujjar protests demanding tribal status spilled over Friday to Faridabad in Haryana, forcing the police to fire in the air, and also the Indian capital.
Around 300 Gujjars gathered at Ankhir Chowk of Faridabad town bordering the national capital and shouted slogans against Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundara Raje, set a police van on fire and torched at least two Delhi Transport Corp (DTC) buses.
The crowd armed with sticks and stones then marched menacingly on the highway towards New Delhi but was cut off as the police swooped down fast to push them out of the highway, restoring vehicular traffic that had got jammed.
"The situation is tense and we have increased patrolling in the town," Senior Superintendent of Police Ashok Mittal told IANS in Faridabad. "Traffic is almost smooth now. We are keeping a strict vigil."
The angry Gujjars of Faridabad had tried to block the busy New Delhi-Mathura highway to protest against the killing of over 20 members of their fraternity in Rajasthan this week.
In the Indian capital, Gujjars protested in Khajoori Khas locality on the city's outskirts and stoned the police and burnt effigies of Raje.
Violence also erupted in Gurgaon in Haryana and Ghaziabad and Noida in Uttar Pradesh.