New Delhi: "Situation might be calm, but we are still afraid to live here. But we had to come back due to our work," said Mohammed Mansur, who owns a shop in Khajuri Khas area. He along with his family lives on the first floor of the building, while the ground floor is his shop.
Mansur, who has an issue in one leg is emotional while recalling the violent nights of February 24 and February 25. "We just ran away and went to our house in Rampur. I still can't take out the fear we felt that day," he told the correspondent. Mansur's shops have been brutally vandalised, with all the things inside the shop stolen. Only Muslim shops have been vandalised or either burnt in the area.
In the same area, few shops are closed. The neighbours say that the owners have left the city due to fear of being targeted. The same was witnessed in Kardam Puri area where a few shops have been since the day violence broke out. "He has left the city, we have no idea when will he be coming back," said Afzal, who is a resident there.
People seem to collect outside the closed shops and discuss how people have been leaving due to the fear that has gripped them. "We had to come back due to the work, or else I have no intention of coming back," said Mansur.
A resident of Yamuna Vihar, Ravi, who drives an auto has said that most of the people who have left are mostly daily wage labourers.
"In my area all Muslim families have left for their village. Most of them live in Bihar and were daily wage labourers," said Ravi. In areas of Mustafabad and Shiv Vihar as well, many residents were seen leaving their homes.
"In my 40 years of living here, never have I seen such a condition. Hence, I would prefer leaving the city till things become better," said Aleem a resident of Mustafabad.
In the visit to different areas of North-East Delhi, the correspondent was told a similar story. "My neighbour came from Uttar Pradesh, they have since left from here. Look his shop is closed as well," said Faiz a resident of Mustafabad.
There is an uncomfortable silence and an eerie calm, which the people say feels like a warning. Meanwhile, the death toll in Delhi violence has risen to 53. About 44 have died at GTB hospital, 5 at RML hospital, 3 at LNJP hospital and and at Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital.