Stones thrown at cops during pre-dawn demolition drive around mosque near Delhi’s Turkman Gate
Tensions briefly gripped Old Delhi after a few miscreants indulged in stone-pelting at police personnel who were carrying out a pre-dawn demolition drive on an encroachment around a mosque near Turkman Gate on Wednesday. The situation was, however, brought under control after cops fired tear gas to disperse the protestors.
Madhur Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police, Central Range, said, “During the course of the demolition, a few miscreants attempted to create a disturbance by indulging in stone pelting. The situation was promptly brought under control through measured and minimal use of force, ensuring that normalcy was restored without escalation.”
#WATCH | Delhi | Visuals from the area near Faiz-e-Elahi Masjid, Turkman Gate, where MCD, pursuant to the directions of the Delhi High Court, carried out a demolition drive on an encroachment earlier today.
Madhur Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police, Central Range, says,… pic.twitter.com/sAVAsZwPfs
— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2026
The demolition drive near the century-old mosque was scheduled to start at 8 am today, but it began in the early hours, at 1:30 am. According to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials, the crackdown on an illegal encroachment was carried out near the Faiz-e-Ilahi masjid, located at the Turkman Gate area, following an order by the Delhi High Court. Police deployed nearly 17 bulldozers as part of their anti-encroachment action.
The demolition was carried out even as the court issued a notice on a petition filed by Masjid Syed Elahi’s managing director on Tuesday, which challenged MCD’s decision to remove alleged buildings from land near the mosque and graveyard at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.
Locals strongly protested against the demolition drive at the encroachment site. A few people even threw stones at cops deployed in and around the area. To restore order, police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.
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