5 cops injured in clash during demolition drive near Delhi mosque; police says normalcy restored
New Delhi (PTI): At least five police personnel were injured after an anti-encroachment drive near a mosque in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan area turned violent early Wednesday, officials said.
The clashes erupted when officials of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were carrying out a demolition drive on land adjoining the Syed Faiz Elahi Mosque and a nearby graveyard at Turkman Gate, following directions of the Delhi High Court.
The Delhi Police, in a statement, said that teargas shells were used to disperse the crowd and normalcy was restored shortly after the incident.
During the operation, some people allegedly resorted to stone pelting, triggering chaos at the site. Police later said the situation was brought under control with measured force.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Nidhin Valsan said MCD scheduled the demolition for the intervening night of January 6 and 7, following which police personnel were mobilised and deployed at the site, but around 100-150 people gathered when MCD machinery, including JCBs, was about to arrive.
He said most people dispersed after being persuaded, though some tried to create a ruckus and resorted to stone-pelting, in which five policemen sustained minor injuries and were given medical treatment.
We had to use teargas to disperse the crowd, the DCP said.
Legal action will be initiated after medical reports, statements, he said, adding that CCTV footage are being analysed.
A banquet hall and a dispensary near the Faiz-e-Ilahi Mosque, which were declared encroachments by the court, were being demolished during the drive, the officer said.
The police said that Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), the land-owning agency, had informed the police in advance about the proposed demolition and sought deployment of force for maintaining law and order.
The DCP said that immediately after receiving the intimation, the police contacted local residents and informed them that the demolition was a legal action, adding that the police took people of the area into confidence and received considerable cooperation from them.
According to police, extensive law and order arrangements were made in advance, with senior officers deployed across multiple zones. Coordination meetings were held with members of local peace committees.
This is a developing story, further details are awaited.
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‘No state has right to use force’: Russia on US seizure of tanker in North Atlantic
Moscow: Russia on Wednesday criticised the United States over the seizure of a Russian-flagged oil tanker in the North Atlantic, saying no country has the right to use force against vessels on the high seas, The New Indian Express reported.
Russia’s transport ministry reportedly said, "In accordance with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of navigation applies in waters on the high seas, and no state has the right to use force against vessels duly registered under the jurisdiction of other states," Russia's transport ministry said in a statement.
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The vessel, earlier named Bella-1 and later renamed Marinera, was granted temporary permission to sail under the Russian flag on December 24, the ministry said. It added that contact with the ship was lost after US naval forces boarded it in international waters, beyond the territorial limits of any state.
US officials said the tanker was part of a so-called shadow fleet used to transport oil for countries such as Venezuela, Russia and Iran in violation of US sanctions.
The ship had earlier evaded a boarding attempt near Venezuela last month. US forces eventually seized it in the North Atlantic under a warrant issued by a US federal court," US European Command, which oversees American forces in the region, said in a statement on X.
Following the operation, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the US blockade on Venezuelan oil was in full effect "anywhere in the world."
