Riot police called in after Hindu-Muslim parking space row in Delhi spirals into violent clashes

‘People are requested to help in restoring normalcy,’ say police in plea for calm

Violence broke out in the walled city of Old Delhi (AFP)

A fight over a parking space sparked an outbreak of violence between Hindu and Muslim communities in the Indian capital Delhi on Monday, bringing anti-riot police onto the streets to prevent further conflict.

Shops had to be shut in the Lal Kuan area as tensions boiled over in the Old Delhi neighbourhood, with residents accusing each other of vandalism, beatings and throwing bricks.

More than 1,000 Delhi officers armed with anti-riot gear were deployed in the area on Monday, and residents were told to stay in their homes.

The conflict stemmed from a dispute over the parking of scooter near a Hindu temple around 10pm on Sunday night.

According to the Hindustan Times, 45-year-old Sanjeev Kumar Gupta objected to 20-year-old Aas Mohammad parking a vehicle outside his house next to the temple – leading to a huge brawl involving their family members.

This led to a series of tit-for-tat clashes, with one group men allegedly throwing bricks and stones at the temple and other group attacking those who were believed to have vandalised the religious building.

The Central Delhi Police tweeted a statement calling for calm in the area. “People are requested to help in restoring normalcy,” it stated.

“[Reports] have been registered at the Hauz Qazi police station in connection with the fight between two families over the parking row. A separate [report] has been registered regarding the temple’s vandalism and the violence it triggered,” said deputy commissioner of police Mandeep Singh Randhawa.

Mr Radhawa said police were looking at CCTV footage to discover what happened and the identities of those involved.

The pair at the centre of the parking row, Mr Mohammad and Mr Gupta, were both injured in the fighting. Mr Gupta’s wife told the Hindustan Times a group of 20 to 25 men had attacked her husband in the aftermath of the parking disagreement.

But one of Mr Mohammad’s neighbours claimed members of Mr Gupta’s family had attacked Mr Mohammad and fractured his hand, despite explaining he would remove his scooter within 10 minutes.