Muslim protesters save Hindu families as emergency services fail to respond

New Delhi: Amid the chaotic communal riots that are tearing through North East Delhi for the last three days, a small group of around five to six Muslim residents of Vijay Park has taken it upon itself to ferry innocent Hindus and Muslims from the riot-hit areas to safety.

These people, who had been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment

Act till Sunday afternoon, have now rescued at least 100 Hindus who had nothing to do with either pro-CAA or anti-CAA mobs and countless others since last night. 67-year-old Mohammad, stationed at the entrance towards Yamuna Vihar and Vjay Park, told Millennium Post that they had no differences with any people of any religion.

"We are not even fighting. All we are doing is trying our best to defend ourselves with all the might we have and in the meantime, if we can save people from the violence - then there is no reason we should not do this, irrespective of their religion."

Another resident of Vijay Park, Rehan (33) said that every time they tried calling the 100 emergency helpline number they were being redirected or put on hold. "Since today morning, emergency services seem to have given up on us. Not a single call from this area has been received by authorities and whenever we call for an ambulance or police forces, they pick up our calls and then either put us on hold or disconnect the call. There have also been instances when we were just asked to press numbers for automated services," Rehan said.

Four of these rescuers said that in the last three days, the CAA supporters always seem to have the backing of police personnel. "Every time they have pelted stones at us or started firing at us, we have seen that the police are always on their side of the road," one of them said, refusing to disclose his name out of fear. Another of these men insisted that no matter what the issue was, people should never resort to violence and should help one another. On the other hand, several other people helping this group rescue innocent bystanders said that they have "nothing against Hindus". "In fact, there are so many of our Hindu brothers and sisters who are helping us in Yamuna Vihar, Sudamapuri and Vijay Park," one of them said as an unruly mob of CAA supporters burnt down a park in Yamuna Vihar.

(IMage from thehindu.com)