Shimla mosque dispute: Protestors break barricades, clash with police

Protestors demanding the demolition of an 'illegal' structure in a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday, 11 September, after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.

Raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hindu ekta zindabad (long live Hindu unity)", hundreds of protestors gathered at the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli and marched towards Sanjauli to lodge their protest and broke the barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel.

As the protestors, who had gathered on the call of Hindu interest groups, broke the second barricade near the mosque, police resorted to a lathi charge and used water cannons to disperse them.

Amid escalating tensions over the alleged unauthorised construction in the mosque and a bandh call sounded by Hindu outfits to press for the demolition of the disputed structure, Sanjauli and adjoining areas have been converted into a fortress with heavy police deployment.

The Shimla district administration has issued prohibitory orders under section 163 of the BNSS (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita), barring the assembly of more than five people and the carrying of lethal weapons and arms.

Some Hindu organisations had called for a 'Sanjauli bandh' on Wednesday, 11 September, demanding the demolition of the disputed structure and the registration of 'outsiders' coming to the state.