Large swathes of northeast Delhi were in throes of unprecedented violence as Muslim anti-CAA rioters went on a rampage. The situation in Karawal Nagar, one of the highly sensitive neighbourhood in northeast Delhi was the area which arguably borne the maximum devastation. OpIndia team decided to visit the strife-torn region to comprehend the ravages of the violence inflicted by the Muslim mob.
On visiting the “Bhagwan Shiva Chowk” in Karawal Nagar’s Shiv Vihar, we saw bricks and stones irregularly strewn across the road, giving an impression that the place might have been a witness to a gory pitched battle. In the adjoining areas, houses owned by Hindu appeared badly damaged and in a deplorable situation. A Hindu DRP school was burnt down while shops owned by Hindus were razed down. A potter was inconsolably weeping as his months of hard work laid in ruins. On the other hand, a food stall was severely burnt, including the stove and benches.
We then proceeded towards Shiv Vihar Chowk, where attacks were carried out from the Muslim school Rajdhani. The DRP school of Hindus were reduced to ashes. There were about 300 riotous goons in the Rajdhani school. A person who had come to see his burnt shop claimed that the Muslim houses, on the other side of the road were all safe and intact.
When he examined the claim made by the person, we found that the Muslim locality, on the other side of the road was unharmed and secure, while the Hindu shops were blown into smithereens. When we asked about the glaring incongruency to a person who was serving tea and snacks to the security forces deployed in the region, he said that the attack had emanated from the same Muslim houses. Muslim women were also standing on their roofs and attacking the police forces with acid, he added.
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According to one eyewitness who saw the pogrom against Hindus claimed that in response to Muslim mob’s attack, Hindus too tried to mount an assault in self-defence but they were mostly at the receiving end as the Muslim rioters were perched at a higher elevation in Rajdhani school and had a clear aim to target the Hindus. Dinesh Munshi was shot in the head, after which he died. He added that despite this, Hindus assisted many Muslim women to their homes who were stuck in the struggle between the two sides. Hindus continued helping the needy ones while Muslims kept raining petrol bombs and hurling stones, he said.
There’s still an air of fear and apprehension in the region, as people are reluctant to come in front of the camera and name the culprits. They claim that they have to stay in this area, If they come out and speak the truth, tomorrow nobody will come forth to help them if anything untoward happens to them.
When asked where was the police when Hindus in the region came under attack, the residents said that police was present at the spot but they were not authorised to shoot the rioters.