Amid reports of communal tension in Hauz Qazi of Chandni Chowk after a fight over parking snowballed into the vandalism of a temple, one of the men involved in the parking row said he was not sure which community vandalised the temple.
I don't know if those who attacked the temple were Muslims. It's only hearsay that people who attacked the temple were Muslims. I can’t even recognise them, Sanjeev Kumar told India Today TV on Wednesday.
On what triggered the argument, Sanjeev Kumar said on he found a bike parked in front of his house on Sunday night following which he asked the owner of the bike to park the vehicle somewhere else. This led to a scuffle, he said.
Politicians giving communal spin to the incident: Sanjiv Kumar, man involved parking scuffle in Delhi, speaks to India Today's @TanushreePande. #ITVideo
Reiterating that there was no intention to give the Hauz Qazi incident a communal colour, Sanjeev said, I don't know if the man [bike owner] was a Muslim or Hindu.
Accusing the politicians of giving the incident a communal tone, Sanjeev Kumar said, Politicians end up giving communal colour to everything. Whether it is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), there is no exception.
He also lauded the Delhi Police for playing a positive role and ensuring that the situation doesn’t go out of control in the area.
WHAT HAPPENED IN HAUZ QAZI
Communal tensions flared up in Old Delhi's Hauz Qazi over a parking lot scuffle between two men that led to a temple being vandalised.
It all started when Aas Mohammad (20) tried to park his scooter in front of a building on Sunday night and Sanjeev Gupta, a resident of the building raised an objection.
Sanjeev Gupta's wife claimed that as her husband raised an objection and asked Mohammad to park his scooter somewhere else, he threatened him and returned with a group of men.
She said the group beat up her husband. Both the men were taken to the police station for questioning when the group reached the police station.
According to reports, this group then went and vandalised the nearby temple on Durga Mandir street while the two men were inside the police station.
However, as per another version when Mohammad parked his scooter, Sanjeev Gupta asked him to move it somewhere else or he will set it on fire. Thereafter, a quarrel broke out and Gupta, along with some other person, took Mohammad inside the building and beat him up.
Soon, police personnel arrived and took both Mohammad and Gupta were taken to the police station. When Mohammad and Gupta were at the police station, some unknown people vandalised the tension.
The priest of the temple has said a mob came to the temple around midnight, damaged the temple and defaced some of the idols.
Police registered one case based on the statement of the person who had come to park his bike, the other case based on the statement of the person who did not let the other man park his bike and the third case against unknown persons for rioting and damaging public property.
FOUR ARRESTED
Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, meanwhile, briefed Home Minister Amit Shah on the issue and told him the situation was now normal and under control.
Four people were arrested for the trouble on Sunday night, Patnaik told reporters after his meeting with Shah in the
Parliament House.
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/stor...039-2019-07-03