Shimla mosque row: Protesters clash with police at Dhali tunnel; water cannon used to disperse crowd

Prohibitory orders were imposed in the Sanjauli locality in Shimla on Tuesday following escalating tension over illegal construction in a mosque and call for a bandh by Hindu organisations.

Shimla: Protestors demanding the demolition of an illegal portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area clashed with security personnel on Wednesday, breaking barricades and pelting stones as police used water cannons and baton-charged to disperse them.

Raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hindu Ekta Zindabad", hundreds of protestors gathered at the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli and marched towards Sanjauli, defying prohibitory orders and ignoring warnings by the administration to lodge their protest and broke barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel.

As the protestors gathered on the call of some Hindu groups entered Sanjauli and broke a second barricade near the mosque, police resorted to lathi-charge 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.

At least two police personnel were injured in the scuffle and stone-pelting, while the protesters claimed some of them sustained injuries as well in the police action.

Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, who was at the spot beside Director General of Police (DGP) Atul Verma, said attempts were on to bring the situation under control.

"We are trying to pacify the situation through dialogue but there is no leader and the mob is not ready to listen," Gandhi added.

Vijay Sharma, one of the demonstration's leaders, however, said the police lathi-charge on the protesters led to the volatile atmosphere in the area.

Sunita, who was among the protesters, claimed police lathi-charged children as well. "We are neither from the Congress nor from 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, the students were scared as they were stuck in the school due to the protest. "We were allowed to leave when our parents came to collect us," she added.

Several protesters alleged that 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.

Many women also joined the protest and recited Hanuman Chalisa at Dhalli before breaking the barricades.

Amid escalating tensions over the unauthorised construction in the Sanjauli area mosque and a bandh call sounded by Hindu outfits to press for the demolition of the disputed structure, Sanjauli and adjoining areas have been converted into a fortress with heavy police deployment.

The Shimla district administration has issued prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, barring the assembly of five or more people and the carrying of lethal weapons and arms.

Himachal Pradesh Public Works Minister Vikramaditya Singh appealed for peace and said the state government would take necessary legal action on the dispute around the mosque.

"It is not the case of one structure but there are more than 4,000-5,000 such structures. The matter has been pending in the municipal commissioner's court for the past 14 years and efforts would be taken to expedite the case," he added.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Jai Ram Thakur also appealed to 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 warned the government.

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.

As far as the mosque is concerned, the case of unauthorised or illegal construction of some floors is in the court of the municipal corporation and the law would take its course and requests would be made for early decision on the issue, Sukhu said.

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 here in the vicinity of the Vidhan Sabha and Sanjauli to press for their demands.