NEW DELHI, Feb 19(TOI): A dispute over extension of a graveyard led to tension between two communities near Mayur Vihar in East Delhi on Friday, resulting in stone-pelting mobs clashing with the police who used cane charge and teargas to control the situation.
Four motorcycles were burned and other vehicles damaged during the violence that started around 1.30pm at Kotla village next to pocket 5, Mayur Vihar. There was massive disruption in the area as the approach roads to surrounding colonies were closed for traffic, some even during the evening rush hour.
Though the violence was quickly brought under control, tensions simmered in the area. "We have deployed three companies of Delhi Armed Police besides summoning officers from 12 police stations of east district. We are holding hourly meetings. Traffic movement around the disputed site has been controlled so as not to allow the situation to flare up," said DCP (east) O P Mishra.
Two communities in the village came face to face over the construction of a wall near a Waqf board-owned burial ground. A section of the land has been in dispute. While one community claimed that the entire land had been handed over to the Waqf board for extending the graveyard, most of the flat owners in the area protested, saying the burial ground was too close to their residence.
The tension began immediately after the Friday prayers when the body of an elderly man was brought to the ground. Since there was no space left in the burial ground, the mourners started digging a grave in the disputed area, police said.
"There had been tension earlier in the area over construction of a boundary wall by the Waqf board to extend the burial ground. When Muslims again began making the wall on Friday, other locals gathered to protest," a police officer said.
The situation turned violent and vehicles were damged. When the police arrived, the mobs clashed with the cops. While cops claimed that only a few stones were pelted and no teargas shells were used, locals said the police had to initially lathicharge the crowd and later fired teargass shells during the violence that lasted till 2pm.
Commissioner of police B K Gupta said, "A clash between communities was averted and we have established complete peace in the area. We are constantly in touch with the elders. The cause of the dispute is being investigated."
DCP Mishra said said cops have sought the help of the local MLA and the DDA to ascertain the ownership of the disputed land.
TOI reached the spot after being forced to take several detours. It found residents were unwilling to talk about the clashes. "We have stayed together all these years. There have been problems earlier since the graveyard and the residential colonies are very close to each other but such a flare up was never heard before. During the violence, there was a lot of war cries and people from both communities were hurt," said friends Shabnam and Gurinder, who added that the "violence was entirely uncalled for".
People returning from work in the evening were taken by surprise by the turn of events. Vehicles headed towards Sanjay Lake, Kalyanpuri and Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital from Pandav Nagar were diverted to NH 24. Others had to take the internal road from Mayur Vihar. "Buses and cars are being diverted. I have to take a 8km detour to reach my residence at Lakeview DDA flats in pocket 5 of Mayur Vihar," said Mahesh Chand, returning from his workplace at ITO.
The police later allowed access to the Mayur Vihar approach road to Delhi Police apartments and Pandav Nagar police station but the Sanjay Lake road was kept out of bounds.