Amid tight security, 20 people offer Friday prayers at Turkman Gate mosque; number of arrests rises to 13

With the arrest of two more persons on Friday, Delhi Police has so far arrested 13 people in the stone-pelting incident that took place around Faiz-e-Elahi Mosque at Turkman Gate area early Wednesday. Security personnel deployed in the area, meanwhile, remained on high alert and only allowed around 20 people to enter the mosque to offer Friday prayers.

Police said Mohammad Imran (36) and Mohammad Ubaidullah (26) were arrested from their residences in Turkman Gate.

DCP (Central) Nidhin Valsan said 13 people have been arrested so far for allegedly throwing stones at police personnel, injuring at least five of them, while they were deployed in the area during a Delhi High Court-ordered anti-encroachment drive around the mosque.

Police, meanwhile, added Section 109 (attempt to murder) of BNS in the FIR registered in connection with the violence on Friday.

“We have set up a special team led by an assistant commissioner and an inspector to probe the case from two angles – to arrest the stone-pelters, and to scan social media platforms to determine who provoked the people to indulge in violence,” Valsan said.

Trouble had begun after social media posts claimed that the mosque was being demolished, prompting a mob of 150 to 200 people to gather and later pelt stones and bottles at police personnel and MCD workers.

The DCP said 10 social media accounts are under scrutiny and that police teams will approach the administrators one by one. “Two among them were not at home when our team visited on Friday,” he added.

Police, meanwhile, allowed “controlled” Friday prayers at the mosque, allowing 20-odd residents to enter the compound. Some people were redirected to the nearby Badi Masjid, said an officer, adding that most chose to offer prayers at either at home or nearby smaller compounds.

Earlier in the day, police had advised people to offer prayers at their homes, as Section 163 (restriction of gathering) of BNSS had been imposed in the area.

On Friday, over 1,000 security personnel were stationed around the Turkman Gate and the narrow lanes leading to the mosque. “Around five companies of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) were deployed,” a CRPF personnel, who guarded the lane alongside Delite Cinema, said. Besides local police, the two companies of RAF (Rapid Action Force) were also deployed.

At the Kamla Market crossroad, riot control vehicles were on standby, even as police personnel verified the identities of all those going towards the mosque. About 600-700 m away, the lane alongside Delite Cinema – a route taken to reach the mosque – also had CRPF personnel patrolling the area.

Nadeem Qureshi (50), a local resident, who has been offering Friday prayers at the mosque for the last 20 years, said he offered prayers at a small mosque near his house.

“People are allowed to offer prayers inside the mosque, but not in a group… Police made sure that no crowd gathered in or around the mosque. The whole area has been barricaded… I think it’s for the best, no one wants a riot here,” he added.