Protesters Seek Demolition Of "Illegal" Portion Of Mosque In Shimla, Clash With Cops

Protesters demanding the demolition of an illegal portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area clashed with security personnel on Wednesday, breaking barricades and throwing stones as police used water cannons and lathi-charged them. Ten people including policemen and women were injured.

Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh said the government was concerned over escalation of the situation and was keeping a close watch on all the developments.

"We are in touch with the central leadership and Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and myself have talked to party president Mallikarjun Kharge and party in-charge Rajiv Shukla and they are also concerned that there was no deterioration in law and order situation," he said.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli and marched towards Sanjauli market, defying prohibitory orders and ignoring warnings by the administration. They broke barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel while another crowd gathered at Sanjauli Chowk.

As the protesters gathered on the call of some Hindu groups entered Sanjauli and broke a second barricade near the mosque, police baton charged and used water cannons to disperse them.

Police detained some protesters as well, including Hindu Jagran Manch secretary Kamal Gautam, and erected the barricade near the mosque again, but the protesters refused to leave and continued raising slogans against the administration.

The outbreak of the clash left students in Sanjauli, Dhalli and adjoining areas stranded in schools. Residents vented their anger at the administration for not ordering the schools to remain closed for the day despite being aware of the demonstration. They said several school managements are awaiting directions from the district administration to send the children back home.

As a protest against the baton charge, the Shimla Beopar Mandal has called a bandh on Thursday. Mandal president Sanjeev Thakur said the bandh would be from 10 am to 1 pm, and protests would be held at various places.

Vikramaditya Singh said Hindus have the right to protest peacefully, but no one would be allowed to take the law in their hands. He told reporters that as far as the issue of unauthorised construction in the mosque is concerned, the case is pending in the court of the Shimla Municipal Corporation Commissioner and action would be taken as per the law once the decision comes.

"If the construction is unauthorised, the structure would be demolished according to law," he said, adding the case is pending for the last 10 years and there were mayors of CPI(M) and BJP also in the past, so no politics should be done on the issue.

"Everybody lives peacefully in Himachal Pradesh which is also known as 'dev bhoomi' and I appeal to the people not to take law in their hands," Singh said.

At least six police personnel were injured in the scuffle and stone-throwing, while four protesters were injured, DGP Atul Verma who was at the spot told PTI.

"We tried to pacify the situation through dialogue but there is no leader and the mob is not ready to listen," SP Shimla Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi said.

One of the protesters Kalpi Sharma said 15 people including women were injured. Vijay Sharma, who led the protest, said the police baton charged them and that led to the volatile atmosphere in the area. Sunita, who was among the protesters, said the police baton charged children as well.

"We are neither from the Congress nor the BJP. We are Hindus and want these street vendors out," she said.

Janvi, a student of Class 6 of SPM Public School in Sanjauli, said the students were scared as they were stuck in school due to the protest. "We were allowed to leave when our parents came to collect us."

Several protesters alleged the government first denied them permission to hold a peaceful demonstration and now, was arresting them.

"We demand that the structure be sealed till the hearing is concluded, all outsiders coming to the state be registered and a vendor's policy formulated on a population basis with 95 per cent licence to Hindus," Sharma said.

Minister Singh said Himachal Pradesh was the "first state in the country to act against conversion during Congress rule when Virbhadra Singh was the chief minister and I am proud to be a Hindu but the government works under the purview of law".

"We are sensitive towards the cause of the people of Himachal Pradesh and stand with them but minorities are also a part of the state and we have to ensure the safety of all," he added. "We cannot stop anybody from coming to the state to earn livelihood but we have to strengthen our internal security and verification of outsiders coming to the state would be done by the police as well as the municipal corporation," he maintained.

Many women also joined the protest and recited Hanuman Chalisa at Dhalli before breaking the barricades. The Shimla district administration had issued prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, barring the gathering of five or more people and carrying of lethal weapons and arms.

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur appealed to the protesters not to defy the prohibitory orders. "The case of the unauthorised mosque is very sensitive and should not be dealt with routinely and the matter should be expedited as tension can spill over to other parts of the state also," he said.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the issue should not be given a political colour. "Maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the government. People have the right to protest peacefully but there should be no damage to anyone from any community," he added.

Hindu organisations demanding the demolition of the disputed structure in the mosque and the registration of outsiders coming to the state had given the call for the Sanjauli bandh on Wednesday, Last Thursday, Hindu groups staged massive protests at the Chaura Maidan in the vicinity of the Vidhan Sabha and Sanjauli to press for their demands.