MOHALI – Angry protesters hurled stones and clashed with police outside the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in the runup to Wednesday’s India-Pakistan Cricket World Cup semi-final.
Baton-wielding police and security forces on horseback tried to push back the crowds as a protest outside the stadium turned ugly and a Reuters witness said seven people were arrested and taken away in a police van.
Injured men were seen lying on the grounds as they tried to escape the police action. It was not clear what had sparked the protest.
A heavy security presence has surrounded the 30,000 seat stadium ever since the two neighbouring countries set up the hotly anticipated showdown last week.
Local police told Reuters the protest was unconnected to the shortage of tickets that has angered fans in several Indian cities over the past five weeks.
Last month’s violence in Bangalore erupted after tens of thousands of fans who had camped overnight outside the 38,400-seat M Chinnaswamy Stadium were told all 7,000 tickets allocated for public sale for the Feb. 27 India v England game had been sold.
Police also used batons to control the angry fans on that occasion and similar scenes were witnessed in Nagpur on March 8 in the lead up to India’s group match with South Africa.
Ticket sales for the Feb. 19-April 2 tournament have proven to be a major headache for Indian organisers, who are unable to meet demand for the high-profile matches, especially those featuring the home team as well as the April 2 final in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
