An uneasy calm at Jahangirpuri a day after the violence

Residents recount Saturday’s events with confusion and anger; local businesses suffer

Shattered glass lay strewn on the deserted roads of northwest Delhi’s Jahangirpuri on Sunday even as an uneasy calm prevailed among the members of the two communities, a day after a communal clash broke out here. 

Locals told The Hindu that the first ‘Shobha Yatra’ rally started at around 11:30 a.m. with only 50 persons. But over time, the headcount kept increasing. Eventually, around 1,000 persons are believed to have been part of the third and the final rally, which took place at 6 p.m., soon after which violence was reported in the area.

“The police did nothing even as the mob threw stones at the mosque and attempted to vandalise it…They had planned the procession in a way that allowed them to attack our religious place…They claim we started pelting stones from the mosque. Why would anyone store stones inside a masjid?” asked a local, Shoaib.

Zahiuddin Islam, 50, was as busy tending to his cold drink stall at Kushal Chowk when he saw a melee outside the mosque. “I saw people running helter-skelter so, I shut my shop out of fear and fled the spot…I thought that they might come for my shop too,” Islam said.

However, other a few others claim a different series of events unfolded in the area on Saturday evening.

Akshay, 18, a resident, said, “We had taken permission to carry out the peaceful procession throughout the day and at around 6 p.m. when we were returning home, we came under a shower of stones. They started the violence and damaged our vehicles.”

“We have never obstructed prayers offered by members of the other community. So, why was rally impeded?” asked Shashi, another resident.