New Delhi: Delhi Police on Thursday arrested six more people in connection with the violence that erupted during the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) demolition drive with the violence near the Faiz-e-Elahi mosque in central Delhi. What was meant to be a routine, court-mandated anti-encroachment drive near Turkman Gate slid into chaos late Tuesday night, after rumours of a mosque demolition raced through the area, drawing crowds and triggering attacks on police and civic staff.
The drive was underway on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday when tensions began to rise. Police said false messages and posts circulating on social media and WhatsApp claimed that a mosque was being pulled down, setting off panic and anger among residents.
Within a short span, the situation deteriorated. More than 200 people gathered near the site, pelting stones and bottles at police personnel and civic workers. Five police officers, including the local station house officer, were injured in the violence.
11 arrests, probe widened
Delhi Police said the investigation has since been expanded, with 11 people arrested so far in connection with the unrest. Six fresh arrests were made on Thursday, taking the total into double digits. All those arrested are residents of the Turkman Gate area.
Five of the accused — Mohammad Arib, Kashif, Adnan, Mohammad Kaif and Sameer — were produced before a Delhi court and remanded to 13 days of judicial custody.
Senior officers said teams are scanning CCTV footage, mobile phone videos and call records to identify those involved both in the attack on officials and in spreading false information that fuelled the unrest.
Influencers, audio clips under scanner
Police have also identified 10 social media influencers whose posts are suspected to have played a role in stoking tensions. A woman influencer has been summoned after investigators flagged a video in which she allegedly claimed that a mosque near Ramlila Maidan had been demolished. Preliminary checks found the claim to be untrue.
Officers said misleading audio messages circulated across multiple WhatsApp groups were particularly effective in amplifying fear in the densely populated neighbourhood.
Court order, not demolition
Authorities have reiterated that the anti-encroachment drive was carried out strictly under a court order and did not involve the demolition of any mosque or religious structure. Police described the rumours as “deliberate and damaging”.
By Wednesday night, the area had returned to an uneasy calm, though police remained deployed in strength as investigators continued to trace the origin of the messages that turned a routine civic exercise into an overnight flashpoint.