Detained: A juvenile mechanic, jaunpur youth

On October 23, the juvenile was returning home from namaz when the police, who were combing the area after a minor clash broke out, picked him. The police allegedly hit him with lathis and took him away to Mayur Vihar police station. “He is docile and keeps to himself most of the time. It is highly unlikely he had anything to do with the clashes,” said his landlady, who did not wish to be named. “He came to live in Trilokpuri as a tenant in our house only a month ago. He works as a car mechanic in Okhla and lives here with his mother, his grandmother and two aunts. His family has left for their relatives’ place.”

Shawez
Age: 32
Occupation:
Embroiderer
Resident of: Block 27

Javed Khan returned home on Friday afternoon to find his brother missing. Neighbour Shameem Ahmed revealed that he had witnessed Shawez being beaten and dragged away by the police. “Police armed with lathis were banging the doors of houses till they stopped before Shawez’s house. They spotted a couple of boys peeping from the terrace and assumed that they were the ones hurling stones, the police broke into their houses and pulled them out. Five policemen started beating Shawez and hit him on his head till he started bleeding. He, along with others, were then dragged and dumped in police vehicles. The boys are all migrants, working at the embroidery workshop.”

Rafiq
Age: 27
Occupation: Embroiderer
Resident of: Block 27

His wedding was set for November 28. After his arrest for alleged role in the clashes, the girl’s family have called off the wedding. “He was watching TV inside his workshop when he heard the commotion and ran to the terrace to see what was happening. Within minutes, the police reached his house, broke open the lock of his room and dragged him out on the street, beating him with lathis, before they dumped him into a police van and drove off. He has sustained several fractures,” Rafiq’s brother, Aslam, said. “The police were rounding up anyone looking from terraces or balconies, taking them to be involved in stone-pelting. My brother is a victim of these arbitrary arrests. They not only picked him up without any evidence but also beat him up mercilessly. It is clear conspiracy against us Muslims,” he alleged.

Ajay Kumar
Age: 20
Occupation: Unemployed
Resident of: Block 25

He had come to Delhi a week ago in search of a job from Jaunpur district in UP. On the day rioting broke out, Ajay was reportedly ill and was home throughout the day. His aunt Sitara said: “He was suffering from cold and fever. Since his nose was running, he had tied a napkin around his face and was sitting in the balcony. When he saw a few policemen chasing some locals and beating them, he got scared and ran inside. I even shouted at him and asked him to shut the door and remain inside. It is then when a policeman came to our house and rounded him up. He is new to this city. He came here a week ago. Why would he get involved in a riot?”

Jitender Pandey
Age: 28
Occupation: Works at a phone shop in Block 26
Resident of: Block 14

Jitender was reportedly rushing home after shutting down his shop soon after the clashes broke out. He reportedly managed to reach home but just as he was about to enter his house, he was picked up by the police. “I called my brother and asked him to return home as the clash was intensifying. He was at the shop then. He reached home and I opened the door for him. The moment he was to enter he was pulled out by policemen patrolling in the area,” Jitender’s sister Anjali said. “They beat him up before my eyes. I told them that he is innocent but they just took him away.” Jitender has a 3-year-old son.

Rajendra Prasad
Age: 28
Occupation: Unemployed
Resident of: Block 24

Minutes after the clashes intensified, Rajendra rushed out of his house to lock the gates of his block in order to prevent rioters from entering. He succeeded in locking the gates and was drinking water offered to him by a neighbour when a police personnel called out to him. Rajendra’s brother, Surendra who works at City Bank, said: “The keys were still in his hands when he was called. He thought the policeman was asking for water. As soon as he unlocked the gate and stepped outside, the policeman caught him by the collar and dragged him away. All of us tried to explain to them that Rajendra is innocent but the police did not listen. They dragged him before my eyes and beat him up with lathis. I met him in Tihar and he was weeping. Our family does not have a criminal record and I am an eyewitness in this case. My brother did not even step out of the house while the clash was on.”