Spooked by rumours, Delhi residents rush home in fear

Rumours of violence and arson spread like wildfire in parts of west and south Delhi on Sunday and created fear and panic among residents, especially since it came days after communal riots in north-east Delhi.

Sukhwinder Kaur, a 38-year-old homemaker in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar was out shopping when she heard neighbours talk about “gunshots” being fired near the Metro station on Sunday evening. Her instinctive reaction was to stock up on essential groceries and rush to her children, who were at home, alone.

Volunteers distribute food to local residents who were affected during communal violence between two groups over the new citizenship law, near Mustafabad in New Delhi. (ANI)

Kaur and her family spent the rest of the evening discussing the possibility of violence spreading to their side of the city. Areas such as Tilak Nagar, Rajouri Garden and Janakpuri, all of which have a sizeable Sikh population, became extremely wary after Sunday’s rumours, as many families here had been witness to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in the national capital.

“I cannot explain what we went through in those three to four hours when people around started talking about riots starting here. It was not just me, and there was panic everywhere. My neighbours had prepared to rush to their relatives’ houses for refuge,” Kaur said.

Rumours of violence and arson spread like wildfire in parts of west and south Delhi on Sunday and created fear and panic among residents, especially since it came days after communal riots in north-east Delhi.

The police were quick to dismiss the rumours, with officials patrolling lanes asking people not to believe any unverified news and social media exchanges. But shops remained shut and colonies locked their gates to prevent any outsiders from getting in, “just in case”.

In Sewak Park near Dwarka Mor, shopkeepers started pulling down shutters on Sunday evening at 7, as rumours of people being attacked in Dwarka Sector 3 spread. Till 2am, Hafeez Mohammad Salim, a cleric at a local mosque, said it all started with rumours of two people being attacked in Subhash Park, followed by unverified reports of attack in Matiala and Dwarka.

“Shopkeepers hurriedly closed their shops and people started running towards their homes. Most men in the colony came out on the streets and we decided to guard our colony lanes,” Salim said.

He said that it was only after senior police officials met people and gave reassurances that people left for their homes.

“For seven hours, there was tension, fear and panic among locals. We tried to calm people down after checking with our friends and family in other areas,” said Mohammad Wasim, a resident of Sewak Park.

Even in the gated colonies of Dwarka, resident welfare associations (RWA) closed exit gates, increased security deployment and dimmed lights. In many sectors, all outsiders, including the delivery persons, were checked thoroughly before entering.

“We did not want to take any chance with safety. Till late at night, we were in touch with the local station house officer (SHO) to get updates. We have, however, issued a notice today (Monday) asking residents to refrain from believing any news over social media,” said Prabhakar Reddy, president of United Welfare of Residents Association, a common RWA body in Dwarka Sector 14.

To control the situation, Delhi Police issued multiple alerts reassuring people that no violence had erupted in these parts.

“Some unsubstantiated reports of tension in south-east and west districts are being circulated on social media. It is to reiterate that these are all rumours. Don’t pay attention to such rumours. Delhi Police is closely monitoring accounts spreading rumours and taking action,” the police alert read.

In Khanpur, near the public bus depot, the rumours led to panic among people who had come to attend a wedding. Vedpal, a resident of Aya Nagar and area councillor, said he was at attend the wedding in Khanpur, when he suddenly saw people leaving after hearing rumours of violence in the vicinity.

“Around 8pm, the shutters of the shops were pulled down and this led to panic, as the wedding venue was across the road. A lot of people left the wedding early due to the rumours.”

Jamia Nagar, and nearby areas — which have been tense since violence broke out in north-east Delhi, owing to the ongoing sit-in at Shaheen Bagh — reacted aversely to the rumours on Sunday

Noor Ahmed, a resident of Shaheen Bagh, said that since violence erupted in north-east Delhi, the atmosphere has been tense because of the ongoing anti-CAA protest in the area. Sunday’s rumours only made things worse.

“There is fear among people here even now. Especially because we have been at the centre of all politics, who knows when someone instigated by these rumours attacks us?” he said.

Halima Akhtar a resident of Madanpur Khadar said, “Around 7.30pm, people started panicking and shopkeepers started pulling down shutters. People were telling others to run. I stepped out to find what happened. They said they saw police approaching and something happened in Madanpur Khadar. The elders then quelled the rumours and situation came under control within an hour.”

Things got tense in south Delhi too. In Govindpuri, Kalkaji and CR Park the news of a “mob” heading towards the area with weapons around 8.30pm created panic.

RWAs in Kalkaji and CR Park closed entry gates as a “precautionary” measure, and this was communicated to the residents to prevent any further rumours blowing up.

The RWA of Pocket 52, for instance, messaged residents around 9.30pm that “As of now there is absolutely no cause of concern. Kindly do not panic. For the sake of extra security all gates have been sealed. All cars entering will be scanned and checked before entry is allowed.”

For residents of Govindpuri and , something was amiss since Sunday morning. A domestic help, a resident of Tughlaqabad who asked not to be named, had informed the household where she works that “There will be some communal problem in the evening. I overheard people in our market discussing how there can be riots.”

On Monday morning, she recounted that there was mayhem in their area. Her husband and son, both of whom drive an e-rickshaw, were out ferrying passengers in Govindpuri while she waited for them in their house.

“They were not answering my calls. I could hear people alerting others that a mob is out to get people and destroy properties over the citizenship bill. After some time, my son came in shivering. He said people were running in panic and everything has shutdown.” A relative of hers said she heard “something like gunshots”.

“I don’t know if it was true. All I know was that there was panic all around. We were scared for our lives,” she said. But none of them could trace where the rumours started. “We don’t even know if these are rumours because people in Govindpuri are still saying that some people were killed last evening,” she said.