Violence during Muharram processions in west Delhi, 12 injured

A section of people taking out Muharram processions clashed with police and pelted stones at them, injuring 12, including six policemen, and damaging several vehicles after they were stopped from changing the designated route in west Delhi's Nangloi on Saturday, officials said.

The police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the "unruly crowd", they said. The incident took place around 6 pm.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer) Harendra Singh said, "Several 'tazia' processions were being carried out in Nangloi area and around eight to ten thousand people participated in them. One or two organisers on the Main Rohtak Road became unruly and tried to deviate from the route which was mutually decided in the coordination meeting with taziadaran."

"Efforts were made to convince them to stick to the pre-decided route and proceed to the designated burials. While most of them cooperated, a few miscreants became unruly and started instigating the public and resorted to stone pelting.

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"To ensure the safety and security of passers-by on the road, which included women, children and motorists, the unruly mob was dispersed by police with mild use of lathicharge and order was restored immediately. They were dispersed from the area. The tazia processions were subsequently conducted peacefully in the area as per customs and religious practices," Singh said.

According to the police, six police personnel and six volunteers, including five women, sustained minor injuries while some police vehicles were damaged in the stone pelting.

The situation in the area is under control and legal action will be taken against the culprits, they said.

Some purported videos of the incident surfaced on social media.

In the videos, some people in the area are seen pelting stones causing damage to public vehicles, including buses, and private cars. They were seen running on the road and allegedly attacking the vehicles.

In one of the videos, police are seen resorting to lathicharge while in another, passengers inside a bus can be seen ducking or sitting on the floor to avoid getting hit by the stones.

A video of a woman sitting inside her car as the crowd damaged her windscreen by pelting stones on it also circulated on social media platforms.

Muslims take out "tazia" processions on Muharram to commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in the battle of Karbala in 680 AD. "Tazia" is a miniature replica of the tomb of Imam Hussain.