A Delhi mosque was attacked in an area far away from the riot zone in the early hours of Friday, residents said, but the police denied it.

Residents said a group of men came on motorbikes and threw stones, breaking a windowpane, at the mosque in Dwarka, southwest Delhi. They chanted “Jai Shri Ram” and left.

Saad Majeed, a resident, said two imams were sleeping in their rooms inside the mosque when the attack took place. A private security guard corroborated the allegation.

“This is particularly shocking as Dwarka is nearly 25km from the riot-hit areas of northeast Delhi. Are the goons now trying to spread the violence into other parts of the capital?” Majeed said.

Initially, a police officer described the incident as an “act of mischief” but the Dwarka deputy commissioner of police later denied it had taken place.

“Rumours of stone-pelting at a religious place by a mob chanting religious slogans in Dwarka are completely false,” the DCP’s office tweeted.

“Public is advised not to pay attention to or spread rumours/ fake news on social media.”

On Thursday, national security adviser Ajit Doval had claimed that everything was under control and assured people that enough police had been deployed to crack down on the rioters.

Armed with guns, petrol bombs, stones and iron rods, frenzied mobs have vandalised and torched several mosques in northeast Delhi.

Distress calls

Over 13,000 calls were made to the Delhi police control room in the four days of rioting between Monday and Thursday, police sources said. Between 7,500 and 8,000 calls were made on just one day on Tuesday, February 25. Many calls went unanswered, they added.