'Reels Influenced Protesters': Inside The 7 Hours Of Bulldozer Action Near Delhi's Turkman Gate Mosque

New Delhi: As violence erupted at old Delhi's Turkman Gate near an old mosque in the wee hours of Wednesday, CCTV footage has now emerged which suggests that videos were used to mobilise people, indicating that a sustained campaign was run over social media to instigate locals, to hurl stones at police personnel. The Joint Commissioner of Police have even admitted that the incident may have been a planned attack, with reels used to influence protesters.

Speaking to Republic, Delhi Joint Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma said, “Five people were detained. It seems like they did not want the lawful measure against encroachment to be complete,”

When questioned whether the attack against the police was planned, Verma said, “We cannot rule out the possibility of the attack being pre planned. Social media, reels influenced the protesters. So action against them will also be taken.” 

When asked if there is any political angle to this incident, Verma said, "I cannot comment on that as of now."

On the possibility of giving a communal spin to this demolition drive, the Joint CP said, "There was an attempt to give it a communal angle. Delhi Police is strictly bound to their duty. Some miscreants under some conspiracy tried to disrupt the action, but of course, they failed to do so."

Here's What Happened | A Timeline

It seems that the civic authorities jumped to execute a court order, that gave them the go-ahead to carry out a demolition drive. The action, which was scheduled to start at 8 am, started off in the odd hours, on the cold January midnight. The protesters resorted to stone pelting, injuring some police personnel. However, the miscreants were soon chased away and the demolition went on till 7 am.

Here's a timeline of what happened over these seven hours in which the demolition exercise was carried out:

• 12 PM: A significant number of police personnel were deployed near old Delhi's Turkman Gate.
• 12:30 PM: 32 bulldozers, 50 dump trucks, and more than 200 laborers arrived at the scene.
• The demolition was scheduled to begin at 1 AM. However, a crowd of people started gathering at the spot.
• Meanwhile, a Samajwadi Party MP also arrived at the Faiz Ilahi Mosque and tried to force his way inside.
• 1:15 AM: Police started dispersing the crowd around this time.
• 1:23 AM: Stone-pelting started against the police personnel. The disturbance continued for about ten minutes.
• Police started chasing away the crowd and the rioters. During this time, tear gas shells were also fired by the police.
• 1:30 AM: The demolition work finally kicked off.
• 7 AM: The demolition was finally over, after about five and a half hours.
• Currently, the debris around the mosque is being cleared.

Action By Delhi Police

The Delhi Police have so far detained at least eight people in connection with the stone-pelting incident. The police said that around 25-30 people pelted stones at the police and MCD officials when the authorities arrived with bulldozers at the Turkman Gate.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Adil Kasif, Mohammed Kaif, Mohammed Arib, Uzaif, Azim, and Irfan, all of whom were accused of throwing stones at police personnel. In addition to them, the police have also taken two individuals, Adnan and Sameer, into custody, who had allegedly circulated videos and audio notes on WhatsApp.

Moreover, Mohibullah Nadvi, a Samajwadi Party MP and the Imam of the mosque on Parliament Street, was present at the scene and was reportedly instigating the crowd. Nadvi is expected to be questioned soon, police said.

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