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2018 saw lowest cases of rioting in Delhi in eight years
A senior police officer of Delhi Police said though the number of riots cases may be at an all-time low, there are many pockets across the city that remain a tinderbox.
Incidents of clashes between groups that led to riots in Delhi continued its downward trend last year, with 2018 recording 23 such cases, less than half of 2017 and lowest since 2011, shows official crime data accessed by Hindustan Times.
In 2014, Delhi witnessed the maximum number of riots. At 160 cases, there was at least one case of riot every two days that year. It was also the year when Hindu-Muslim clashes broke out in east Delhi’s Trilokpuri, prompting the police to impose curfew. During the riots, a local resident was also caught on tape using a country made pistol.
A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said though the number of riots cases may be at an all-time low, there are many pockets across the city that remain a tinderbox. “Trilokpuri is the quintessential tinderbox in Delhi. Petty things such a quarrel between residents of two blocks often lead to clashes there,” the officer said.
In 2018 too, two cases of riots were reported from the area.
The first was after a fight during a cricket match. Two groups attacked each other with stones and Molotov cocktails. In the other case, Hindus and Muslims from two different blocks in the area clashed after rumours that a Dalit man was beaten to death.
Police say another pocket infamous for groups and communities clashing over petty matters is Shahadra in north eastern part of the city. The two clashes reported this year was over a tiff during Diwali celebrations and another was related to a man injuring another in an accident.
A member of the Trilokpuri Aman Committee – a group comprising of members who are well known in the area, work with the police and are tasked with talking to different communities to avoid a flare-up during clashes – said, “Every issue gets politicised here. When the local criminals fight after drinking or while gambling, they go to their political masters. The politicians take sides and it leads to a riot like situation. The criminal could be of any faith. One thing for certain is that he has a local politician backing him here.”
