Commuters in East Delhi went through a harrowing time this evening due to a protest by scores of minority community members against alleged attempts to grab prime wakf land in the national capital.
Trouble started after thousands of people travelling in around 60 buses tried to enter Delhi via the Ghazipur border with Uttar Pradesh in the afternoon, police sources said.
As police foiled their attempt, the protestors resorted to arson by burning a mini-truck and two cars, they said, adding two fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames.
The people from UP were keen to reach Jor Bagh to join a protest against alleged attempt to grab wakf land by a Congress leader belonging to the minority community.
Subsequently, they staged a protest on NH-24 leading to massive traffic jam that caused immense hardship to office-goers and others travelling to East Delhi and Ghaziabad till late at night.
Traffic problems were also encountered in Jor Bagh and Lodhi Road and adjoining areas like Aurobindo Chowk, Safdarjung Madrasa, Tughlak Marg. Two Metro stations -- Jor Bagh and INA -- were shut down to prevent protestors from reaching the disputed site.
In 2012, the dispute over the land had led to a major riot.
"On advice of Delhi Police, due to security reasons, INA and Jor Bagh Metro stations were closed for passenger service at 3:20 PM and later re-opened at 6:23 PM," DMRC spokesman said.
Ghaziabad Superintendent of Police Shiv Meena said the protestors wanted to reach Jor Bagh at any cost but were stopped.
