Tension grips Old Delhi after two religious groups scuffle over parking

NEW DELHI: With a huge number of people gathered in multiple groups in old Delhi’s Lal Kuan Bazaar, hundreds of policemen and paramilitary soldiers were deployed in order to avoid any riot-like situation after tensions erupted between two religious groups over ‘parking’.

A scuffle between two men took a communal turn after a group of Muslim men allegedly vandalised a small temple in central Delhi in the early hours of the day.

Police said the incident was reported around 12.45 am when a man parked his bike outside someone else’s residence. As the two men, from different communities, came to blows, others, too, joined the melee.

“After some altercation and scuffle over a parking issue in Hauz Qazi, tension arose between two groups of people from different communities. We have taken legal action and all efforts are being made to ensure peace and amity. We request people to help restore normality,” Mandeep Singh Randhawa, Deputy Commissioner of Police, said.

Babita Gupta, 35, whose 45-year-old husband Sanjeev, was attacked during the incident, said the security of women in the locality has been called into question in the wake of the scuffle.

Senior police officials stated that three separate cases have been registered in connection with the incident.