Violence erupted in a high security area of the city today after a group of armed men fired in the air in a bid to drive away the inhabitants of a disputed land, following which the latter retaliated with pelting of stones.
The incident took place in front of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) building where the group, some of them donning lawyers' robes, arrived at the land plot, ownership of which is in dispute, and asked the occupants to leave "at the earliest", according to police.
The residents, most of whom belong to the working class and have been staying for many generations in outhouses erected on the land, resisted the alleged land grabbers saying they would leave only if asked by their "landlords".
A scuffle then ensued and the assailants fired a few shots in the air but fled the spot when the angry locals chased them away and pelted stones at them, police said.
One of the local residents was injured in the violence. Police claimed that he was hit by a stone hurled by "one of his neighbours at the assailants".
Later, the locals staged a protest on Allahabad-Lucknow Highway which passes alongside the UPPSC, and accused the police of being "hand-in-glove with land mafia" and remaining a "mute spectator to the lawlessness in the VIP area".
Heavy police deployment was thereafter made in the area even as senior officials arrived and requested the agitators to disperse with the promise of "timely and adequate action".
Police have also sought a video footage of the incident, which has been showcased on a number of news channels, to identify and nab the culprits.
