NEW DELHI: Two boys who were on their way to participate in a religious procession in northeast Delhi were allegedly thrashed by some unidentified people of a different community for “driving fast and shouting slogans” when they were passing through a religious place, a police official said on Sunday.
The two, identified as Ankit and Sidhu, were injured during the incident and admitted to GTB hospital. According to the official, a PCR call was received around 6.40 pm on Saturday at Nand Nagri police station in which the caller stated that some people were thrashing his brother and he needed immediate help after which the police reached the spot.
On preliminary enquiry, the police found that Ankit (19) along with his friends had come from Dilshad Garden to Nand Nagri to participate in the Valmiki Jayanti procession. They were about 10-12 boys on 5-6 two-wheelers. The procession went to its pre-decided route and they were about half a kilometer away from it.
“They took a route through E Block in front of the Masjid to reach the procession. This route is never used for Valmiki processions, as it is dominated by the other community,” DCP (northeast) Joy Tirkey said, adding both Ankit and Sidhu were riding different bikes and shouting some slogans.
While the other boys on their two-wheelers managed to pass through, Ankit and Sidhu were intercepted by some boys of the other community near E Block Masjid. An altercation ensued in which Ankit and Sidhu were thrashed and their motorcycles were damaged. The incident was not connected with the Valmiki procession, which concluded peacefully.
“The Valmiki procession was properly covered at its head, tail and sides by two inspector rank officers, local deployment and one platoon of outer force. Also, there were no motorcycles in the procession. All participants were either on foot or on jhankis,” the DCP said. He said that efforts are being made to identify the culprits and some suspects have been rounded up.