Ghaziabad: Cops, residents clash over mosque

New Delhi: Delhi's Ghaziabad suburb witnessed a communal clash on Thursday night. Twelve persons, including two policemen, were injured when members of two communities clashed at Loni. The two sides were settling a dispute over construction of a mosque.

The incident occurred on Thursday evening when five officials of the district administration, accompanied by the police, went to Ram Park colony here to evacuate a state-owned land where a religious structure had been built by the alleged encroachers to evade government eviction.

The clerics warned the officials not to proceed with the eviction drive as it was a religious structure. When their warning went unheeded they called upon the residents to take up positions and resist the government move.

Soon the situation turned into a free for all as mobs started pelting stones at the police and in some cases even firing upon them.

A large mob jammed the traffic on the Delhi-Saharanpur road while others resorted to arson, setting on fire a police outpost, a sub-divisional magistrate's gypsy and many public and private vehicles.

It took a couple of hours for the police to control the situation. Eight people have been arrested and raids are on to round up the others.

Hospital sources say four of those injured are critical.

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