A diagnostic centre, a guest house and a community hall were demolished during a court-mandated anti-encroachment drive carried out by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) near Faiz-e-Elahi Masjid, close to Ramlila Maidan near Turkman Gate, officials said.
Before and after drone images post the demolition drive in Delhi show that the mosque was not damaged during the exercise that turned violent.
According to Delhi Police, the demolition was carried out in the early hours of January 7, after several coordination meetings were held with members of the Aman Committee and other local stakeholders to maintain peace and prevent any untoward incident.
Trouble began after social media posts falsely claimed that the mosque opposite Turkman Gate was being demolished, prompting more than 200 people to gather.
Police said some people threw stones and glass bottles at security personnel, injuring at least five policemen, including the station house officer of the area. The cops used force and lobbed teargas shells to quell the protest.
So far, 10 people have been arrested, and a juvenile has been detained for the violence. All are residents of the Turkman Gate area, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Nidhin Valsan clarified that the demolition drive was aimed at removing unauthorised encroachments in the area, not the mosque itself. The drone footage, accessed by NDTV, corroborates that.
Police also appealed to the public to rely only on verified information and to refrain from forwarding unverified posts on social media platforms.
"All those who used social media profiles, we have made a list of people who had created these videos and asked people to do non-violent activities. We are tracing them. Rumours were spread that the MCD was demolishing the mosque. To clarify this, SHOs of the area, not Central Delhi, but also SHOs of North Delhi, ACPs spoke to Muslim religious scholars. The area in the vicinity of the mosque, where there is unauthorised encroachment, is being demolished by MCD," he said.
A woman social media influencer has been summoned for questioning after Delhi Police identified 10 influencers who allegedly spread rumours that plans were on to demolish the mosque.
"We have prepared a list of 10 influencers whose posts and videos are under scrutiny. We have more people under the radar. Our teams are analysing the content being circulated on social media, and these influencers will be questioned soon," news agency PTI reported, quoting an unnamed police officer.
Earlier today, Valsan, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, said that adequate deployment of police and paramilitary forces has been made in the area to maintain law and order and that the situation is being closely monitored.
Police said they will continue monitoring social media platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation and maintain peace in the area.
Shops in the usually bustling lanes of the area were shut for the second day today.
