Demolition drive in east Delhi: Four buses vandalised

As many as four public buses were allegedly vandalised by around 20 unidentified persons who were staging a protest against the anti-encroachment demolition drive on a part of a temple in east Delhi's Laxmi Nagar area today.
The police have registered a case of rioting and damage of public property at the Shakarpur Police Station against several persons, who are yet to be identified, a senior police official said.
The protesters also allegedly burnt huge bundles of paper, tyres, etc and threw them on the road one after another, which disrupted the traffic, leading to severe congestion in the area till afternoon.

A police team was deployed near the entry and exit points of the Laxmi Narayan temple in Priyadarshini Vihar locality to take care of the law and order situation, but the protesters allegedly resorted to vandalism on the main road, the senior official said.
They had fled the scene by the time the police team reached the spot, after being alerted about the situation.
From preliminary investigation, it appears that the protesters - who claimed to be from certain extreme right-wing groups - comprised mostly of miscreants from nearby areas and less number of genuine locals, the senior official said.

In the end, the concerned authority could not proceed with the next phase of the demolition drive today, the official added.
Officials of the concerned authority, which had started the drive recently, reportedly after a court order, however, could not be reached for comments.