Jahangirpuri violence: Groups indulge in blamegame after clashes

A delegation of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, a leading Muslim organisation, visited the area on Sunday. The head of the delegation, Mufti Abdul Rajik, appealed to people to maintain peace. One of the members after talking to locals told ET that two of the three shobha yatras held on Saturday were peaceful, but in the third one held in the evening, there were “attempts to erect a flag on a mosque and play loud music when people were reading namaz around 5:30 pm”.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad, however, refuted the charges and demanded that the matter be investigated by a high-powered committee. In a submission to the Delhi Police on Sunday, the VHP said that it had informed the police of its shobha yatra a day in advance. “The time was fixed at 4:30 pm. We think it’s a conspiracy as our peaceful processions were attacked by sharp stones, petrol bombs and swords. We want the police officials who instead of protecting us were trying to stop our procession. If the police cannot protect us, they should tell us, our Bajrang Dal activists can provide for our safety,” VHP’s regional president Kapil Khanna wrote.

The VHP and Bajrang Dal have been organising shobha yatras since last week to celebrate Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti, and at least six states have reported violence and deaths during these events.

Jamiat Ulema e-Hind president Maulana Mahmood Madani had last week written to the Union home minister seeking his intervention to stop “harassment” of Muslims in MP’s Khargone, where the Ram Navami celebrations led to violent clashes.

AIMIM’s Delhi chief Kalimul Hafeez claimed people involved in the procession had swords, knives, sticks and pistols, and the situation turned worse when the procession neared a mosque called Jama Masjid in C block. “There would have been no problem had the yatra proceeded on the designated route, and not in front of the mosque… After the violence, police took a unilateral action and arrested dozens of Muslim youths.”

MR Shamshad, a senior advocate who has been fighting cases for Muslim victims of communal violence in Delhi and UP, said the attempt seemed to create unrest among Hindus and Muslims. “Barely two years ago we saw the worst riots in North East Delhi and many FIRs about vandalism in mosques have not been filed because officials keep delaying us. There has been no relief too for the victims.”