Mosque demolition: Friday prayers held outside police station
By IANSFriday, January 14, 2011
NEW DELHI - Around 1,500 people offered Friday prayers outside the Nizamuddin police station in south Delhi amid tight security as they were not allowed to do so at the site of a mosque that was demolished by civic authorities two days earlier, sparking protests.
“Friday prayers were held peacefully and nobody was allowed to offer prayers at the demolished site. The situation is being monitored closely,” said a security officer deployed at the site.
About 3,000 personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Delhi Police kept guard at Jangpura to avoid any untoward incident.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished the mosque in Jangpura that had been illegally built on government land. More than 1,000 protesters had gathered outside the Hazrat Nizamuddin police station in the area Wednesday and blocked roads, demanding reconstruction of the structure.
The violent protests prompted police to use tear gas to disperse the crowd.
On Thursday also an angry crowd of protesters demanded that the moaque be rebuilt and the security forces, sensing a volatile situation, blocked the road between Jangpura and Ashram as a preventive measure.
Most of the shops in the area were closed Thursday and traffic was hit in south Delhi, leading to diversions in other areas.
