- Violence also occurred on Tuesday in several areas, including Zafarabad-Maujpur in north-east Delhi.
- People from every community living in the disturbed parts are reaching the homes of terrified, acquaintances
- Till now 22 people have been killed in the violence, and order is to be shot on seeing the miscreants
New Delhi: Violence erupted in northeast Delhi for the third consecutive day on Tuesday between supporters and opponents of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). In Moujpur, miscreants fired and pelted stones throughout the day. The number of people killed in the violence has reached 22, while 250 are injured. Of these, 70 have been shot. Violent crowds are now setting fire to the homes and shops of common people. People from many areas including Zafarabad, Maujpur, Bhajanpura, and Seelampur are in a panic. Bhaskar’s ground report from the violence-hit area …
1) People shown armed with sticks and children stopped in relatives’ houses
Akhilesh Kumar from Seelampur … Police was not even getting off without security equipment from road number 66 here. The police closed the road with barricades near the Seelampur Lalbatti, with small jackets and a helmet on the head. Metro services passing through that route have been closed since Monday. People living in the area, irrespective of the community, appeared frightened. A young girl was telling the policemen that I have to go to Gokalpuri. Can I reach it safely? Police personnel was unable to muster the courage. Then a policeman said – one can use a vehicle through Lodhi Road. There is no entry of vehicles from here, you can go on foot.
Seelampur Red Light had a large media base. Some even went ahead on the bike but returned after seeing the situation deteriorating. A journalist had reached the Jafarabad metro station by some other route from an auto rickshaw but their people appeared with sticks on the road of Janata Mazdoor Colony. When one of the injured started to sit in his auto-rickshaw, he got down from the auto-rickshaw and walked about one and a half km back to the Seelampur police booth. Meanwhile, in the streets of Subhash Park, people were seen with sticks. Some even had knives and swords in their hands. Moving from Seelampur and reaching Gokalpuri via Loni Road, the scenes were more frightening. In Seelampur, Karaval Nagar, Sherpur, Maujpuri, Yamuna Vihar, Brahmapuri, and Gautampuri, children or relatives who went to school or work, a large number of people stayed at relatives instead of returning home. A large number of laborers work in many types of factories in the area, including jeans sewing, and dyeing.
2) Panic firing, throwing petrol bomb, fire
Neeraj Arya from Kardapuri and Ghonda … A scary atmosphere was seen in the Kardampuri area on Tuesday afternoon. Uncontrollable miscreants not only fired publicly but also fired vehicles throwing petrol bombshells. The police seemed helpless in dealing with these people. Security forces surrounded the area from all sides but continued firing from the rowdy streets. People of both groups also continued to set fire to each other’s shops. The atmosphere became so bad that the people who made these miscreants beat them up badly. Fearing people locked themselves in homes. Everyone continued to talk to their relatives and family on the phone. Police also fired tear gas shells, but they did not have much effect on the miscreants. Among these were many people who covered their mouths with a cloth to hide their identity. The stampede continued at some distance. They continued to panic in the area, being completely fearless. A similar atmosphere was seen at Ghonda Chowk during the day. Here the rioters set a minibus on fire. Five six E-rickshaws were also burnt. These goons continued to panic in fear with sticks and iron rods in their hands. The police were also releasing tear gas to chase them.
Some people living in the area said that they had not seen such a terrible incident of violence in Delhi before. Police and security forces personnel were seen on the road, but they could not understand how to deal with the situation. Because if they used to control people from one side, stones would start hurling from the other side. An atmosphere of tension continued throughout the day as well.
3) Stone-firing in two groups, 4 bikes and one car burnt
Dharmendra Dagar from Maujpur and Kabirnagar … Violent period of violence continued in Maujpur on Tuesday. Stoning started between two groups in Maujpur at 7.30 am. Many people were seriously injured in this. The rioters set 4 bikes and a car on fire. When police forces were deployed, the miscreants pelted stones at them. At 12.30 pm, rioters set fire to religious sites including vehicles, homes, and 8 shops. Seeing the situation uncontrolled, paramilitary security forces were deployed in the area at around 3.15 am. Even after this, the rioters did not stop firing stones. Suraj Singh, a youth resident of Maujpur, told that his child is ill. Got out of the medical store for him to take medicine. He told me that he was smiling. Some people are throwing stones at people from the roof of houses. People are not leaving their homes.
Additional police and paramilitary security forces were deployed when violence did not stop in Maujpur. Police also had to impose curfew there due to stone pelting and firing. This was followed by a decrease in violent incidents. Yet the atmosphere remains tense. At Kabirnagar, about a kilometer from Maujpur, stone-pelting started in the morning. Two groups of rioters started pelting stones at each other. After this, five vehicles, which appeared in front, opened fire. Pankaj Kumar, a resident of Kabirnagar, said that people could not sleep overnight due to stone pelting. Rioters are setting fire to the place. Never seen such a situation before. Even after Section 144, the miscreants looted and set fire to each other’s community houses and shops. There was terror of the rioters throughout the day. Items were thrown out of several stores.
4) were being injured by car and bike
Tarun Sisodia from GTB Hospital… People injured in violent incidents continued to reach GTB Emergency on Tuesday. Every 10 minutes someone or another was seen arriving at the hospital. Someone was bringing an ambulance, then someone was being brought by car or bike. Due to a malfunctioning CT scan machine in the hospital, the bullet was sent to another hospital for a scan. The injured started reaching GTB Hospital from 7 am. According to a doctor present in the emergency, one patient is coming here every 10-15. About 50 percent of the patients were reported injured due to bullets.
Apart from this, other stones and other sharp objects were said to be injured. 16 police personnel also reached the injured. By 9 o’clock at night, 150 injured reached the hospital. Even then, the process of reaching the injured continues there. The condition of the two injured is stated to be more critical, they have been admitted to the ICU. Due to illness due to those injured in the violence and reaching the hospital, the family members of Ashok Nagar resident Rajanand were upset for two hours to take the dead body. Dubey’s family members said that he was hospitalized for a long time. After his death, when the matter came to take the body to Ashok Nagar, no one was ready to go. He said that all the kannis kept cutting due to the violence.
5) Bullet shot by a young man between stones and firing
Toshi Sharma from Babarpur … In the Babarpur area, where there is a crowd in the market every day, it was completely closed on Tuesday. People were seen standing outside the houses with families in the shadows of the 100-foot road in Durgapuri and adjoining residential areas. There was a fear among the people that no one could attack their house. Roads were lined with stones and bricks. Somewhere there was burning of goods outside the shops which the policemen were trying to extinguish. People said that at around 3 in the evening, a stone was thrown at a religious place. Meanwhile, a young man living near the Kanshi Ram dairy in the street opposite the temple shot someone from the roof. He was immediately taken to the hospital.
Thousands of crowds gathered on the Durgapuri road as soon as the young man got shot. There is a showroom named Shagun Sweet in front of Metro Pillar Number 233 in Maujpur. On Tuesday morning, an armed crowd cut its shutter and entered inside. The mob took laborers and hawkers inside a closed showroom. Showroom owner Mukesh Bansal was informed about this. Bansal said that he sought help from the police to save his people. The unruly mob ransacked and looted the showroom even before the police reached the spot. After some time, the police arrived and took out all the workers.
