The Delhi Police were deployed to intervene in a clash that broke out between members of the Valmiki and Muslim communities in Model Town’s Sangam Park on Sunday, The Indian Express reported. While those present at the site said several people were injured in the stone pelting that ensued, the police said two people had sustained injuries.

The clash was triggered when a Class 10 student from the Valmiki community pushed a bystander who fell on a 36-year-old man from the Muslim community, the police claimed. “Our son had only pushed the passerby and that man had assaulted him,” the boy’s mother said.

A fight soon broke out between the two and others joined in. The man’s wife, however, claimed that he was also hurt in the scuffle. “They say my husband had assaulted a young boy,” the man’s wife said. “But he is injured himself. I made sure he did not go for the peace meetings as I fear for his life.”

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Aslam Khan said officials were holding mediation meetings. “We talked about how the two communities have a history of living together and how they should introspect on the reasons for the violence,” Khan told the daily. “They have sorted out their differences and no complaints have been registered.”

Authorities stationed an entire company of officers from 14 police stations in the northwest district, and more than 70 Central Reserve Police Force officers at various entry and exit points in the area.

Model Town MLA Akhilesh Tripathi, who is from the Aam Aadmi Party, blamed “hooligans” for disrupting peace in the area. “I intervened and tried to clear out misconceptions between the two communities,” he said.