Jahangirpuri violence: Delhi Police chief says no bid to plant saffron flag on mosque

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) There is no evidence for the theory that a bid to plant saffron flags at a mosque led to violence in Delhi's Jahangirpuri but was "a minor argument which later took the shape of massive violence", Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana said on Monday.

"The people who are saying that someone attempted to plant a flag there... it is not true," he said at a press briefing on the Jahangirpuri communal violence.

He said it is too soon to tell what the reason for provocation was . "This is part of the investigation. I can't tell you anything because the investigation is yet to be completed," he said.

Asked again about planting the saffron flag, Asthana said: "It is not right. There was no such thing."

However, Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind's Delhi state General Secretary Abdul Raziq, who visited the site of the violence along with a delegation on Sunday, told IANS that when the third procession was passing near the mosque, some miscreants tried to enter and place a 'saffron flag' at the gate of the mosque.

Asthana also said that at the time of violence the police were present in adequate numbers and initially even managed to separate both the groups.

"Nine people, including 8 cops, were injured in the clashes. This shows that the police efficiently did their job which prevented any injury to the public," he added.