Mosque dispute: VHP leaders among 50 booked for violence

Around 50 persons, including Vishwa Hindu Parishad leaders, former councillors and panchayat pradhans, have been charged with resorting to violence during a protest against unauthorised construction at a mosque in Sanjauli on September 11. Additionally, 71 individuals involved in stone-pelting against the police have been identified.

The protest turned violent when hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Dhalli Tunnel and attempted to march towards the mosque site, breaking through police barricades. As tensions escalated, protesters began pelting stones at law enforcement personnel. In response, the police used water cannons and batons to control the crowd.

Among the six police officials injured was a woman constable, who suffered a lumbar vertebrae fracture. Shimla Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi vowed strict action against those involved in the violence, emphasising that more cases will be registered against those who incited the unrest, including through social media. The police are gathering call records and using photo and video evidence to identify offenders.

The protesters have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 196 (1) (promoting enmity on basis of religion); 196(2) (offence at place of worship); 189 (unlawful assembly); 126(2) (wrongful restraint); 61(2) (criminal conspiracy and assault); 353 (2) (spreading false information on religion); 223 (disobeying orders of public servants; and 132 (assaulting public servant).

He stressed that the protest was had been premeditated, and the instigators who used social media to stir emotions have been identified. The authorities were not approached for permission to stage the protest, indicating deliberate defiance.

On September 12, the Sanjauli Mosque Committee met with the Municipal Commissioner of Shimla, Bhupinder Attri, requesting permission to demolish the unauthorised storeys of the mosque and submitted a memorandum to address the issue.

Pre-planned protest to disturb peace

It was a pre-planned protest to disturb peace. Those who fuelled the fire on social media have been identified. In a video, a person was seen standing on a vehicle and provoking people to defy the prohibitory orders. — Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi, Shimla SP