NEW DELHI, JANUARY 19: A minor tiff between children on Eid day led to Hindu-Muslim clashes in Welcome Colony near Seelampur in northeast Delhi. Several persons, including two policemen, were injured in the clash that lasted nearly an hour. The police fired seven rounds in the air and lobbed nine teargas shells to bring the mob which fired from country-made guns and pelted stones under control. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, LG Vijai Kapoor, police chief V.N. Singh, local MLA Matin Ahmed and local leader Saluaddin Pehlwan rushed to the spot within the hour.At least 15 persons were rounded up by late evening. The police claim they have identified the instigators from both the communities and while one of them, Chanda, has been arrested, search is on for Bitto.It all began at around 4 pm at the local MCD school, which is divided into the Urdu- and Hindi-medium sections. According to eyewitnesses, a group of boys was playing gulli danda and another, cricket. A gutsy shot by one of the players resulted in the gulli landing on the cricketers' side, which the players refused to return. The altercation took a turn for the worse as bystanders from both the communities joined in with whatever they could lay their hands on. Brickbats flew from all directions and a few knives were also flashed.Personnel from the local police station, which is less than half-a-kilometre from the spot, reached 20 minutes after the clashes broke out. The arrival of the police did not deter the mob, which continued with the brickbatting from the safety of their houses.Police teargassing was answered with a few gunshots in the air from one of the houses. In retaliation, the police fired a few rounds in the air which finally capped the clashes.An hour-and-a-half after the trouble began, the situation was completely under control. Tension was, however, still palpable in the air. Barring the men in mufti, the roads, which were littered with bricks, were completely deserted. Shop shutters had been downed. After the Chief Minister was briefed about the incident, she was mobbed by the residents and had to listen to the acute power problem in the area. There was no power in the area at the time. ``The frequent power cuts is what encourages anti-social elements in the area'', complained a resident.Dikshit instructed Power Minister Narendra Nath to ensure uninterrupted power supply in the area for a few days. The residents told the CM that it was not the residents of the area who indulged in fighting. ``Anti-social elements from outside fight here often over gambling. Sometimes it assumes a communal flavour,'' they said.Even as the police were rounding up the suspects and interrogating Chanda - the prime suspect and a known ruffian - a stone flew and landed near the area SDM Prakash Chandra. Home guards ran in the direction from which the stone had been hurled and caught hold of a teenaged boy and dragged him in the direction of the local police station.The number of persons injured during the clashes could not be ascertained as most of them had gone into hiding. The PCR vans standing outside GTB hospital and SDN hospital waited for the injured, but no one turned up.After the Chief Minister left, residents started peering out of their houses and by 7 pm many of them started venturing out. Neighbours could be seen taking stock of the situation and discussing the number of ``innocent people'' who had been detained by the police.
