Muslim residents of Basai Darapur village in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar are living under constant fear of backlash, following the killing of a member of the majority Tyagi community by his neighbours from the minority community.
Several Muslim families are reported to have fled their homes. However, a few returned after assurances from the Delhi Police. Business Standard with reference to a news agency reported that members of the Tyagi community have decided to boycott Muslims from outside Delhi.
Though the village remained peaceful even in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition back in 1992, the murder of 51-year-old Dhruv Tyagi on May 12, allegedly for resisting youths who passed lewd remarks at his daughter, has not only shook both the communities to their core but is now threatening the bonhomie that has characterised Basai Darapur for decades.
Irfan Salami, a property dealer in the area said this is the first time something horrific like this has happened. He added that they did not witness such a thing even during the Babri Masjid demolition. Hindus and Muslims have always stayed as a family here for ages, he claimed.
After hearing that thousands of people from the Tyagi community would be flooding the area, Salami who has been living here for the last 44 years was forced to move his family to a relative’s place.
Meanwhile, the victim’s family has appealed to not give the incident a communal colour, as some fringe groups were trying to flame communal passions.
32-year-old Riyaz Ahmed, who was among those who took the profusely bleeding Tyagi and his son to the hospital also shifted his family to his younger sister’s house in Uttam Nagar. However, he returned after the assurance of the police. Ahmed has been living in the area for the last 35 years.
Ahmed recalled the fateful night, saying as soon as he heard noises, he rushed to rescue Tyagi and his son but by the time he reached there, they had been stabbed. Condemning the incident, the minority community said the crime has no religion and the culprits involved in the act should be hanged to death.
The Tyagi community called a Mahapanchayat on Thursday and decided that Muslims from outside Delhi should not be allowed to stay as tenants or be given shops on rent, which has left the minority community unnerved.
Many protesters allegedly raised hateful slogans against their community and even said to have filmed the entry and exit routes of the village mosque.
Another local, Shahbaaz Ahmed (27), said they were feeling unsafe and have moved to Okhla fearing for their lives.