Protesters court arrest, want Karbala cases dropped
Over 1,500 Shia Muslims, including women and children, courted arrest on Monday demanding quashing of a case filed against members of the community for rioting in south Delhi 15 days ago.
The protesters were released immediately, the police said.
The police gave permission to a delegation from Anjuman-e-Haideri to use the disputed gate to enter the Karbala shrine in Jor Bagh when a Tazia procession which will be taken out by the community on Tuesday.
“All members of Anjuman-e-Haideri along with around 1,500 persons courted arrest on Monday.
They were, however, released immediately,” said Chhaya Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south).
The protest was against the case filed on January 15 at Lodhi Colony police station when the police lobbed tear gas shells at a crowd of 200 people which was pelting stones on being stopped from opening the Karbala gate.
“We have assured them that the investigating is on,” added Sharma.
Fourteen officers, including four Central Reserve Police Force personnel and 10 Delhi Police officials, were injured during that clash. Residents of Jor Bagh claimed that at least half a dozen vehicles parked nearby were damaged.
Meanwhile, Maulana Syed Kalbe Jawad, the national president of the All India Shia Ulema Council, has threatened a massive protest if the police do not quash the case before February 3.
Delhi Police personnel have been deployed in large number around Jor Bagh to prevent any untoward incident during the Tazia procession on Tuesday.
