Six months later, north-east Delhi riot victims pick up pieces, rebuild lives
Sitting outside his fruit shop-cum-house in Khajuri Khas, Deen Mohammad (58) said the building was set on fire by the rioters. He said he was happy that he managed to save the lives of his family members.
Six months after the communal riots in north-east Delhi in which 53 people were killed and over 400 injured, thousands of people rendered homeless and hundreds of properties vandalised and set on fire, people are still picking up pieces and struggling to rebuild their lives.
Sitting outside his fruit shop-cum-house in Khajuri Khas, Deen Mohammad (58) said the building was set on fire by the rioters. He said he was happy that he managed to save the lives of his family members.
With no money left to reconstruct the building, Mohammad and his two brothers had to rent a house in Chand Bagh, just across the road.
Pointing at the walls of his house that are still covered in soot, he said, “I have taken loans from relatives to revive my business. The sale is not even 30% of what we used to have. Two of my brothers have already received Rs 1.5 each as compensation from the Delhi government but mine is still pending. We are just hoping we manage to repair our home soon and start living a normal life again.”
Just across the road, Ashish Maheshwari and Mahendra Kumar Aggarwal re-opened their petrol pump in Bhajanpura, which was set on fire, in July. A huge blue tin sheet wall has been erected to cover the vandalised portion of the fuel station. With their office burnt down, the partners sit outside in shade to monitor the work.
Maheshwari, 44, said it took them four months to re-start the business. “We had to fix three oil dispensing machines with one of them completely damaged by rioters. All the documents and stuff kept in our office also got destroyed. We had to take loans from relatives and friends to make this petrol pump functional,” he said.
The coronavirus pandemic has come as a double whammy for the residents of the riot-affected areas.
“We just want the year 2020 to end. It has been difficult to make ends meet in the past few months,” said Raj Kumar, owner of a general store in Shiv Vihar, whose shop was vandalised by rioters. “We somehow got the shop repaired, but then Covid spread. The business is down by almost 50%,” he said.
A group of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protesters on February 22 moved their ongoing protest at Seelampur to Jafrabad metro station. Violent clashes broke out between Hindus and Muslims in several areas of north-east the next day.
Life returns but tension palpable
After the violent clashes in February, Shiv Vihar crossing resembled a war zone with buildings vandalised and set on fire; streets covered with pieces of bricks, glass pebbles; burnt vehicles lying on the road; notebooks and books from nearby schools strewn on the roadside; people locked inside their homes and paramilitary personnel patrolling the area.
Six months later, life is back on streets of Shiv Vihar as well as other riot-affected areas such as Bhagirathi Vihar, Brij Puri, Chand Bagh and Mustafabad. However, burnt shops and buildings still stand as a grim reminder of the violence. Almost every lane opening on Brijpuri road, which connects Shiv Vihar to these localities, has an iron gate installed or being installed.
“This is for our safety. We had to erect temporary gates using tables and wooden sticks when rioters ran amok,” said Jeet Chaudhary, a resident of Bhagirathi Vihar.
A team of Rapid Action Force personnel continue to patrol Bhagirathi Vihar — one of the worst riot-affected areas. “The situation is under control and there have been no incidents in the recent past. Our teams are deployed in the entire north-east Delhi,” said a RAF personnel, who didn’t wish to be named.
Despite palpable tensions, several residents said they want to move on that the bond they shared with their neighbours is still intact.
When Manoj Kumar, 40, a garment trader, had to get repair work done of his two-storeyed house in Mahalaxmi Vihar near Shiv Vihar crossing, he called Mohd Ayub, a resident of Chaman Park. “For us, nothing has changed. We trust him and this is why we called him to do the work,” said Kumar.
Waiting for compensation
Bunny Kochar, 24, says that he saw rioters set his pastry shop, which he had opened two years back, on fire. “For two days, we kept the shutters down and tried to protect the shop. But then, we couldn’t do anything. Nothing was left in this shop,” said Kochar.
On May 27, Kochar reopened his shop—Bunny Bakers. “Business is gradually picking up. But we haven’t got any compensation. I have made several rounds to the government offices, but I don’t know when we will get the money,” said Kochar.
Mehtab Qamar, 45, who had built a house in Brij Puri using all his savings two years back, is also waiting for the government compensation. He used to sell acrylic sheets in a shop built under his house. “I had left with my family to a relative’s place in Uttar Pradesh 15 minutes before the rioters entered our area on February 24. They set my shop on fire and attacked my house with petrol bombs. It took us four months to gather the courage to return back to our home,” he said.
“We have received Rs 25,000 as compensation from the government as of now. We have been out of work since February. Covid-19 has made the matters worse. We are left with no money to restart our business and government compensation is the only hope,” he said.
Despite repeated attempts, Delhi government spokesperson didn’t report to HT’s query regarding disbursement of compensation.
On July 21, the government had told the Delhi High Court that it has disbursed Rs 18.67 crore as compensation to the victims of the riots in north-east Delhi. In an affidavit filed through its additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose before a bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and justice Prateek Jalan, the government said that it has received 3,041 applications for compensation of which 1,526 have been approved.
Loss of Life
Many families, who lost their loved ones in the communal riots, said the damage is “irreparable”. Families of many such victims have vacated their houses in the riot-hit areas and shifted to other parts of the city. For instance, the family of a civil engineer Rahul Solanki, who died in clashes, has vacated their house near Shiv Vihar crossing and put it on sale.
His father Hari Singh Solanki said it was very difficult for the family to stay in the area where their son was “brutally killed”. “Living in that locality was like reliving the same grief every day. We decided to vacate the house last month and shifted to some other part of the city. We want to sell that house now,” he said, adding that his family is still waiting for justice.
Sheruddin, a resident of old Mustafabad, had lost his two brothers Amir (25) and Hashmi (19) in the violent clashes on February 25. Sheruddin said his brothers were returning from work when a mob attacked them near Gokulpuri. “After waiting for 24 hours, we visited the police station to file a missing complaint of my brothers. Within the next six hours we were told they were dead. It is still difficult to believe for the family that they both are gone. Amir has left behind two daughters -- 4 and 2-year-olds. They ask about their father every day and we have no answers to their queries,” he said.
“It will take years to heal the wounds and ages to heal the hearts ravaged by hate,” he said.