Protesters belonging to Shia sect of Muslim community today staged demonstration at several places against acquisition of Karbala land in Jor Bagh area of city, throwing traffic out of gear in parts of East and South Delhi and prompting authorities to close two metro stations.
Jor Bagh and INA metro stations were closed at around 10.45 AM. They were reopened around 6:15 PM for the public.
According to a senior Delhi Police official, they advised DMRC to shut these stations for safety reasons during the gathering and protests.
Police resorted to use of mild force on demonstrators, who tried to march towards the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Jor Bagh in Central Delhi.
Traffic police had closed both carriageways of NH 24 from Gazipur flyover to Uttar Pradesh border for all types of vehicles since morning as the protesters were supposed to come into the national capital through it.
Traffic jams were witnessed on roads connecting Noida to Delhi and on those connecting South Delhi to Central Delhi. However, the traffic could be normalised only by evening.
This morning, scores of people, who came in 10 buses from UP, were initially stopped at Gazipur Border.
"We initially didn't allow some persons, who belonged to minority community, to enter Delhi. They wanted to enter Delhi for offering 'namaz' but later they were allowed to enter," said a senior UP police officer.
The protests continued till 5 PM, police said.
