Vendors and guards clash at India Gate

DCP (New Delhi) Pranav Tayal said, “We received a PCR call about the clash and reached the spot. It was found that private security guards and vendors were fighting over selling eatables along the stretch. The guards had asked them to vacate. We were told that a few vendors got angry, and when the NDMC truck came in the afternoon to load their material, they pelted stones and used sticks against the guards.”

The guards had dismantled the stalls and were loading them on the truck which led to the fight, police said, adding that five guards sustained injuries, and a case under IPC sections relating to obstructing public servants in duty, assaulting them, and attempted culpable homicide was lodged against the vendors. No action has been taken against the guards yet.

On Wednesday, when The Indian Express visited the spot, there were no vendors in and around the children’s park and Shahjahan Road. Guards at the spot said they had approached the vendors and asked them to move but they didn’t.

Vendors around India Gate, however, said they heard about the incident and were told that the guards were “aggressive”.

A vendor selling popcorn said, “There were a few who have been selling corn, chips and fritters for some time. We don’t know what happened but the guards got aggressive and started beating them. They were shifted. There’s no rule here. How can they call trucks and dismantle shops all of a sudden?”

Officials said the scuffle was between security guards deployed by the Central Public Works Department and unauthorised street vendors. They said the particular stretch is a non-vendors zone. “There are 90-100 licenced vendors like ice cream sellers, but every day, 2,000-3,000 vendors illegally enter the area. Giving a licence to all vendors is not possible and the decision is taken by the urban development department, CPWD and NDMC,” said Satish Upadhyay, the vice-chairman at NDMC.