By Alok Singh
New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS): Ten-year-old Shabnam has been longing to get home and eat a decent meal. But, stuck a few blocks away from home in east Delhi's Trilokpuri, she is home yet far away, due to the tense situation in the area following clashes between two groups.
"I am presently staying at my aunt's house in Block 27 and cannot return home in Block 20 as the police is not allowing me to do so," Shabnam, dressed in an off-white coloured frock, told IANS.
Muslim-dominated Block 20 is the most affected area from where a dispute in this working-class neighbourhood of housemaids, rickshaw pullers, daily wage labourers, butchers, vendors and other menial workers, erupted over religious grounds leading to violence between the Hindu and Muslim communities since Diwali (Oct 23).
Two shops owned by the Muslim community have allegedly been set ablaze. Nearly 60 people of both the communities have been injured in the clashes, with two Hindu boys being in a critical condition.
Trilokpuri is divided into 36 blocks out of which three blocks - 15, 20 and 22 - are Muslim dominated. Seventeen blocks are Hindu-dominated, while only seven comprise of a mixed population.
Shabnam's plight is shared by many other residents of the area, including Anand Kumar, who resides in block 35 and has been confined to his house since Diwali night.
"I managed to step out of the house on Friday, but returned soon after receiving a phone call informing me of the fresh violence near my house," the 42-year-old petty shopkeeper told IANS.
Fahim, 32, a resident of block 27 shared that while he is allowed to visit his relatives within the area, the deployed police personnel refused to let him go outside the boundaries of the presently tense area.
"Stone pelting and scuffles over petty issues are commonly seen in the area. These are only resolved by police intervention," he said.
Over 1,000 policemen, including the rapid Action Force (RAF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) are deployed in the area after the clashes broke out.
Police patrolling vans were busy combing the sensitive blocks, where after the situation was examined Monday, a curfew was imposed with stricter restrictions.
Violence started on the night of Oct 23 when a group of Muslim boys objected to holding a "Mata ki chowki" in Block 20.
A housewife, Rekha, 26, told IANS: "Five people were consuming alcohol near the pandal and I requested them not to. But they slapped my nephew and also pushed my elder sister who was lighting a candle there."
Meanwhile, members of the Muslim community denied the allegations, saying Hindu men pelted stones on a mosque located near the pandal. This, they said, led to the violence.
According to Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Beniwal, all five men have been identified but are absconding.
"We are verifying the allegations from both the sides but are also trying to convince them to maintain peace and calm," Bansal told IANS.
Police relaxed the curfew for an hour between 3.30 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. - giving the residents a chance to buy daily essentials. They also distributed commodities like milk and vegetables with the help of Mother Dairy and Safal.
"The area is very dense. People live in one-room houses. Argument over issues related to water, sleeping, parking and toilets are very common here," a beat policeman told IANS.
The narrow bylanes that connect the various blocks in the area are covered with police personnel. The red marks left behind by the bricks thrown by the mob is clear evidence to the violent clash between the two groups that lasted three days.
Social activists have also joined hands with members of the Aman Committee who are working towards pacifying the people to maintain peace and distributing eatables and items of daily needs.
Nitin Chauhan, 32, a social activist who was distributing Parle G biscuits on his two-wheeler to the police told IANS: "They (police) are guarding us. It is due to them that the peace of the area has been restored."
The current situation in Trilokpuri reminded the residents of 30 years back when the anti-Sikh riots, in the wake of former prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her two Sikh bodyguards, took place. The mob went on a rampage killing Sikhs, burning and pillaging their homes, leaving the entire community devastated. Most of the Sikhs then moved out of the neighbourhood.