On Monday (April 18), a Delhi police team reportedly came under attack from the family members after they visited Jahangirpuri at the residence of accused Mohammed Sonu Chikna, who had opened fire at cops during the Hanuman Jayanti ‘Shobha Yatra’ two days ago.
As per reports, the other family members hurled stones at the police team that was visiting the house of accused Sonu. Despite the stone pelting, the cops detained the accused’s wife for interrogation, as per reports.
LawBeat reported that one person has been detained for attacking the police team that had visited Sonu’s house.
It must be mentioned that Mohammed Sonu Chikna has been on the run from the law enforcement authorities since Saturday (April 16). He is a resident of Jahangipuri C-Block and originally hails from West Bengal. Following the untoward incident, police and Rapid Action Force (RAF) deployment has been increased in Jahangirpuri.
It is notable here that while Sonu was caught on camera firing gunshots during the violence, his brother is one of the accused in the stone-pelting case too. Sonu’s brother Salim has been arrested while Sonu has been absconding.
Police say it was a one-off incident, a minor attack on the visiting police team
Additional DCP Mayank Bansal did not provide any details when inquired about the stone-pelting incident. “The recent media report of fresh stone pelting is an exaggeration of facts. It was a minor, one-off incident. Legal action is being taken. One person has been detained,” tweeted DCP North West Delhi.
Mother of Sonu Chikna cries before media, says Sonu fired just because he got angry
The mother of Sonu Chikna has admitted her son fired gunshots during the Jahangirpuri violence and has also identified that the man seen firing is indeed her son Sonu. In a report by Aaj Tak, she alleged that her son was arrested for no reason, and that he picked up the gun to ‘support his community’ during the violence.
She had remarked, “My son has a chicken shop. He was about to open Roza when tension between Hindus and Muslims erupted, and he went out. He does not own a gun. He snatched the gun from someone and fired shots as he was angry. No one was injured. They were threatening us. My son just wanted to scare them off. Someone with a personal grudge shot the video and made it viral.”
Jangipuri violence during Hanuman Jayanti
On Saturday (April 16), a Hanuman Jayanti procession was attacked by Islamists in the Jahangarapuri area of Delhi. According to the FIR, the procession was moving peacefully. However, when it approached the Jama Masjid in C Block at 6 PM, a man named Ansar approached the procession with some of his companions and initiated an argument.
The dispute quickly escalated into stone-pelting, resulting in a stampede in the procession. According to the FIR, police attempted to take control of the situation, but a specific segment of the mob disregarded the orders and intensified the sloganeering and set ablaze some vehicles. The crowd kept pelting stones and glass bottles at the procession.