http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=101619&d=24&m=9&y=2007&pix=world.jpg&category=World
Monday, 24, September, 2007 (12, Ramadhan, 1428)
Violence in Delhi Over 'Desecration of Qur'an'
Nilofar Suhrawardy, Arab News
NEW DELHI, 24 September 2007 - A mob angry over an alleged desecration of
the Qur'an burned down two police posts in Delhi's Jamia Nagar district late
Saturday. The situation returned to normal yesterday after a tense night.
The trouble began Saturday evening when police tried to remove handcarts
obstructing traffic on a road near Batla House. When some copies of the Qur'an
kept on one of the carts fell down, vendors became angry, blaming the policemen
for showing disrespect to the holy book.
According to another version of the incident, the trouble began when
policemen beat up three roadside vendors who had not paid them bribes. "We
refused to pay bribes and said that we could only give money after earning a
profit from the sales. They (policemen) did not listen to us and kicked a cart,
where a copy of the Qur'an had been kept for sale. They didn't stop here. They
beat up three vendors mercilessly," said Wali, one of the vendors.
As word spread about the incident, a crowd gathered after the Isha prayer
and protested outside the Jamia police post. Soon the crowd of protestors
turned violent, pelting the police post with stones. They also set the police
post on fire, despite police using batons to try to disperse the crowd, firing
tear gas and live rounds in the air.
Local trader Sultan Ahmed said: "We were trying to sort out the issue
with the police. They urged us to bring in the person who had put up the
bookstall and to whom the Qur'an belonged. Suddenly the mob started throwing
stones at the post. The gate was locked but the mob broke down the gate and
many policemen were hurt in the process."
Before setting fire to the Jamia police post, the mob burned the police
records there. They also set ablaze police vehicles. The mob also showered the
Shahinbagh police post with stones and then set it on fire.
At least 15 policemen were injured in the violence. Two of them are in
serious condition. The injured policemen were admitted to Apollo Hospital, Holy
Family Hospital and All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. A student, who
received bullet wounds, is recovering in hospital.
Aside from sending reinforcements to the troubled area, police have
sounded an alert in other Muslim-dominated areas of the capital.
Police have asked wireless networks to jam signals in the disturbed
district and adjoining areas to prevent rumors from spreading. They also
initially requested television channels not to report the news of the incident
for a few hours to prevent the violence from spreading
