Locals blame 'outsiders' for Trilokpuri violence
Residents said it all started when a group of boys were found drinking alcohol in a park near the Mata ki Chowki, a makeshift temple which was set up at the spot since the beginning of Navratras.
Even as residents queued up to buy vegetables and milk, uneasy calm prevailed in East Delhi's Trilokpuri area. Curfew was lifted for an hour on Monday evening in the locality that was rocked by riots recently. While people wondered how neighbours turned against neighbours, there seemed to be no clear answer.
"I was sitting at my shop on the Diwali night when I heard people asking everyone to run. I immediately closed my shop and ran with them without knowing why it was happening. You don't think much in such a situation. I have a feeling that people from outside have come here to create trouble," said Dinesh Kumar Soni who has a shop in Trilokpuri Block 20 where violence had broken out.
Residents said it all started when a group of boys were found drinking alcohol in a park near the Mata ki Chowki, a makeshift temple which was set up at the spot since the beginning of Navratras. Another group of boys objected which resulted in a tiff between the two groups. Many said it could have been dismissed like an everyday altercation, but rumours added fuel to the fire.
Two lanes away from the Mata ki Chowki lives mason Abrar Ahmed who said, "The boys who were drinking had members from both the communities. Some other boys objected to the drinking of alcohol at the site, which lead to a fight between them. It was a drunken fight which later got escalated."
"We have never objected to any religious proceedings of the Muslims. We have lived in harmony for years. A group of boys tried to throw bones at the Mata ki Chowki. These are all anti-social elements. You respect our religion just as we respect yours," said Asha, another resident.
Muslim residents said rumours are making the situation worse due to which they are sending away their families to safer areas. "Those who drank alcohol at the religious site were wrong. The Muslim boys who drank there committed a wrong. We have no objections to any of the religious proceedings. Why should anybody poke their noses into other peoples' religion?" said Zafar, a resident.
However, several people claimed tension was brewing for a month ever since some boys allegedly tried to urinate near the site of Mata ki Chowki. The boys were repudiated by the elders of their community for disrespecting religion of the other community.