Families flee homes as communal tension grips Delhi’s Sangam Vihar — ‘just needed to save our lives’

Police are yet to find 'any solid evidence' in their probe to track culprits who dumped carcass in the locality. Local AAP MLA not happy with pace of investigation.

Sangam Vihar MLA Dinesh Mohaniya with policemen and local residents during his visit to the locality where tension persists | Pic credit: Facebook/Dinesh Mohaniya

New Delhi: Some Hindu and Muslim families have left fearing for their safety after tension in Sangam Vihar following the recovery of a cow carcass near a temple on Thursday, according to local residents.

Unease spread at the locality in the far end of South Delhi further after Hindu outfits allegedly held protests and delivered provocative speeches.

Shaan Mohammad, along with his 4-member family, is currently in Kanpur Dehat.

He said that as soon as he saw the video of the incident, he got scared and “left to save our lives”. “After watching the video, I saw that the houses around mine were empty. Out of fear, I left with my children as well. At that moment, it felt like we just needed to save our lives,” Mohammad told ThePrint.

He, however, said that he wants to return once the situation normalises in Sangam Vihar where he has been living for more than two decades.

Similarly, Israr Ali and his family members had taken took refuge at a relative’s house in South Delhi, fearing that if the situation escalated, their home would be caught in the violence.

The family returned to their home two days later. “Many people still haven’t come back. Gradually, people are returning to their homes as the situation has calmed down a bit,” Ali said.

About 12 families are said to have left their homes while the local police are yet to find “any solid evidence” in their probe.

Local resident Seema Soni, whose house is located about 500 m from the temple, said that people in the vicinity have been venturing out of their homes less frequently lately.

According to her, when her neighbours explained the situation, she was left shocked and unable to believe it. “People in the neighbourhood are very scared. Since this incident, people have been going out of their homes less. The police have not yet been able to arrest anyone,” she told ThePrint.

“Fear has spread among the people. The incidents immediately following the event have escalated the situation, leading people to leave their homes,” said another resident Mohammad Musharrat.

Sangam Vihar Station House Officer (SHO) Saroj Tiwari was hesitant to speak about the episode. “Police personnel are doing their work. We are investigating the matter. I can’t share anything more than as I am not authorised to speak,” Tiwari told ThePrint.

Local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Dinesh Mohaniya claimed that he was in constant contact with the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and requested for the prompt arrest of the culprits.

According to Mohaniya, he has visited the area twice and has met with people from both communities to appeal for peace and understanding.

“Currently, there is peace in the area. However, the police are still to arrest the culprits,” he added.

Hate speech

After Thursday’s incident, Hindu outfits held a protest in Sangam Vihar on Sunday. Meanwhile, a video of a person wearing a BJP scarf purportedly threatening to kill Muslims in front of the police went viral in the area. Subsequently, the Muslims of Sangam Vihar filed a complaint with the police and expressed their fear.

However, South Delhi BJP president Raj Kumar Chotela claimed that the person seen in the video was not associated with his party and is not from Sangam Vihar.

Identifying the man as Vijay Gupta from Faridabad, Kumar said that he has verbally lodged a complaint with DCP Ankit Chauhan and added that he had also informed about it to the BJP national president.

Meanwhile, a resident of Sangam Vihar, who filed a complaint of hate speech with the police, explained that the tirade had harmed people from both communities.

“In this area, people from both communities have been living harmoniously for decades. The kind of speech that was given, we informed the administration through our complaint that it should not be taken lightly,” the complainant told ThePrint.

MLA Mohaniya questioned how the accused knew that the Muslims were involved when the police were still investigating the matter.

“How can you punish a community without investigation? It seems that such actions have been intentionally carried out to disturb the peace in the area,” the AAP leader added.

Mohaniya further expressed his dissatisfaction with the pace of investigation. He mentioned that the footage of the incident couldn’t be captured by CCTV cameras in the area because they were not positioned correctly.

However, local residents are satisfied with the police’s efforts but urged for the swift arrest of the culprits.

“We, Hindus and Muslims, are trying together to secure this locality… The administration needs to enforce restrictions on outsiders coming into the area,” the complainant mentioned above said.

On 23 June, Hindu outfits had proposed a march in the area, which the police did not permit. On the same day, some Muslims submitted another complaint letter to the SHO, condemning the incident of cow slaughter and urging appropriate action to be taken.

“The Muslim community will stand in full support with our Hindu brothers in every possible way — physically, mentally, financially, and with all our strength,” the complaint reads.

The complaint stated that local leaders from both communities were holding talks to restore normalcy in the neighbourhood.

(Edited by Tony Rai)