In A Slum in Mustafabad, Men Shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' Set Muslim Settlements on Fire, Say Locals
- 3 years ago
Late into the evening of Feb 25, armed and masked men were setting fire to jhuggis (slum dwellings) and vehicles in Mustafabad in north-east Delhi, while Delhi police looked on. Near a group of burning homes, other residents of the slum – who identified themselves as Hindus from the Mahavat jaat – told the Wire that the jhuggis belonged to Muslims who had fled the area the previous day. They said the fires were started by men shouting 'Jai Shri Ram', and others said the men were members of the Bajrang Dal.
"Keh rehe the tum bolte raho aur bachte raho – tum Jai Shri Ram nahi bologe tho mare jaoge," a resident said, in recorded footage.
Further down the road, on the northern side of the Eastern Yamuna Canal, a new fire was started by groups of masked and armed men.
The area is on the border of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and UP police officers of the nearby Loni Road police station, with multiple jeeps and carrying carbines, stood at barriers but said they were unable to engage the mobs a hundred metres away, in Delhi. The Loni Road policemen believed the new fire was a burning tempo vehicle.
At least two Delhi policemen were standing by, close to the new fire and the mob (The Wire spoke to the Delhi policemen who only said that journalists should leave and would not be protected).
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"Keh rehe the tum bolte raho aur bachte raho – tum Jai Shri Ram nahi bologe tho mare jaoge," a resident said, in recorded footage.
Further down the road, on the northern side of the Eastern Yamuna Canal, a new fire was started by groups of masked and armed men.
The area is on the border of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, and UP police officers of the nearby Loni Road police station, with multiple jeeps and carrying carbines, stood at barriers but said they were unable to engage the mobs a hundred metres away, in Delhi. The Loni Road policemen believed the new fire was a burning tempo vehicle.
At least two Delhi policemen were standing by, close to the new fire and the mob (The Wire spoke to the Delhi policemen who only said that journalists should leave and would not be protected).
Like our work? Click here to support The Wire: https://thewire.in/support
The founding premise of The Wire is this: if good journalism is to survive and thrive, it can only do so by being both editorially and financially independent. This means relying principally on contributions from readers and concerned citizens who have no interest other than to sustain a space for quality journalism. As a publication, The Wire will be firmly committed to the public interest and democratic values.
We publish in four different languages!
For English, visit www.thewire.in
for Hindi: http://thewirehindi.com/
for Urdu: http://thewireurdu.com
for Marathi: https://marathi.thewire.in
If you are a young writer or a creator, you can submit articles, essays, photos, poetry – anything that’s straight out of your imagination – to LiveWire, The Wire’s portal for the young, by the young. https://livewire.thewire.in/
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