Tension at mosque site, few arrested for stoning police

New Delhi : A number of people have been arrested following the late Saturday night clash at an excavated site near the Jama Masjid when a mob pelted stones at policemen there on being refused entry, police said. 10 policemen were injured in the incident.

“We have arrested a few people in this connection. An inspector and a head constable and eight constables were injured when the angry mob pelted stones at them,” Additional Commissioner of Police Devesh Chandra Srivastva told IANS. He did not specify the number.

Police had to even lob tear gas shells to disperse the mob.

According to police officials, the situation is still tense in Subhash Park area.

A mosque had started coming up at the site after a building’s remains were discovered early this month at the site excavated for Delhi Metro work.

Some people from the area claimed that the ruins were those of the 17th century Mughal-era Akbarabadi mosque and started building a fresh structure at the site but the Delhi High Court put a stop to it Friday.

Following the court order, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and police cordoned off the area and handed over the site to Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).