Protesting Sirsa residents teargassed, several hurt

Tribune News Service

Sirsa, May 25

Protests by angry residents of Ther Mohalla, who have been served eviction notices for June 13, turned unruly today. The police used teargas shells and resorted to lathicharge to disperse the protesters after residents blocked the road and threw stones at the police.

Residents alleged that several agitators were injured in the lathicharge though SP Satender Kumar Gupta maintained that no one was hurt in the incident.

“The police will register an FIR in the case soon and take action against those responsible for blocking the vehicular traffic and throwing stones at the police,” the SP said.

Residents of over 3,500 houses built on Ther, an archeologically important site, have been protesting against their eviction for the past several days.

Today, the angry residents blocked the vehicular traffic on the Rania road. The police used light force to evict the protesters from the road. However, the protesters retaliated after some time and started throwing stones at a police bus parked near the Sabji Mandi police post.

A scuffle broke out between the police and the protesters during which the police used teargas shells and lathicharge to disperse the protesters. Scared shopkeepers closed their shops after the incidents.

A police source later claimed that four persons, including two homeguard jawans, were injured in the incident.

The authorities have asked nearly 20,000 people living in over 3,500 houses in the Ther Mohalla to vacate their houses by June 13.

The Ther mound, a protected monument under the Ancient Monuments Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958, has been the abode for these people for decades.