Shimla mosque dispute: Protesters break barricades, clash with police

Police use water cannons against the protesters in Shimla. Pic/PTI

Protesters demanding the demolition of an illegal portion of a mosque in Shimla's Sanjauli area were lathi-charged by security forces on Wednesday after they broke police barricades during a demonstration.

Raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "Hindu Ekta Zindabad", hundreds of protestors gathered at the Sabzi Mandi Dhalli and marched towards Sanjauli, defying prohibitory orders and ignoring warnings by the administration to lodge their protest and broke barricades erected near the Dhalli tunnel.

As the protesters gathered on the call of some Hindu groups entered Sanjauli and broke a second barricade near the mosque, police resorted to lathi-charge and used water cannons to disperse them.

Police detained some protesters as well, including Hindu Jagran Manch secretary Kamal Gautam, and erected the barricade near the mosque again but the protesters refused to leave and continued raising slogans against the administration.

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