Thousands of motorists were Monday caught in a traffic jam while two Delhi Metro stations were closed for three hours following a religious gathering and protest on a disputed land in the heart of the city.

 

 Hundreds of people, including children and women, from a community gathered at the Karbala land in Jor Bagh area at noon. They staged a protest and demanded the ownership of the land as their right.

 

 Sensing that the situation may turn ugly, policemen were deployed near the land. The roads heading towards the Karbala were closed by traffic police. The situation became tense around 5 p.m. when a group of leaders decided to march towards the Congress headquarters at 24 Akbar Road. Police stopped them and they raised anti-Congress slogans.

 

 Roads such as Aurobindo Marg, Tughlaq Road and Prithviraj Road were closed till late evening which led to huge traffic jams.Two metro stations – Jor Bagh and INA – were also closed down due to security reasons. The stations were closed for passenger service from 3.20 p.m. till 6.23 p.m.

 

 Meanwhile, people coming to participate in the protest were stopped by Uttar Pradesh police near Ghazipur area of east Delhi. A clash took place, and the angry protestors vandalised two police vans and also torched a bus.

 

 The clash also led to a traffic jam in east Delhi. People were stuck in traffic for several hours in the stretch connecting Mayur Vihar and Ghazipur on the national highway.

 

 A dispute over the eight acres of land owned by the Waqf Board started in 2000. The situation in the area worsened in 2012 when two communities clashed for the ownership.