One person was killed when the police opened fire on agitators, blocking traf fic on the national highway at Patti Kalyana in Panipat district, while the other died in a stampede reportedly triggered by the police action at Samalkha in Haryana. State Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, ordered a magisterial inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of the two persons.
On the warpath over their demand for Scheduled Tribe status, the Gujjar community, observing “martyrs’ day”, poured into the national capital region since the early hours of the morning and blocked major roads leading to New Delhi.
The security forces resorted to lathicharges, lobbed teargas shells and fired rubber bullets to disperse violent mobs at Mehrauli, Mathura Road, Gazaipur and Anand Vihar, among other areas.
Nearly 110 agitators were detained by the police.
The agitators fought pitched battles, hurled stones and other missiles at the police.
Life came to a standstill in the affected areas as shops downed shutters and people stayed indoors, while marauding mobs moved around brandishing lathis and spears.