New Delhi: Residents of Vijay Vihar said that if police had done its work properly then the riots would have doused within five minutes. "They had the option to not let the situation escalate, however they along with the mob came in the locality and let the whole situation go out of hands," said Mohammed, one of the residents of Vijay Vihar.
It is also the place where Mubarak was shot dead by a violent mob on Tuesday. Mubarak's friend said that he had been living in the area for the past 25 years. "He was like family," he said pointing towards Mubarak's house. A doctor by profession, Mubarak's friend was trying to revive the situation by tending to the injured. "It was mayhem that day. I don't have words to describe what we saw. I still shudder thinking about that day," he said.
Mubarak along with others was standing in the narrow lanes due to unrest in the area. "We all were standing when a mob consisting of hundreds entered the lanes and started firing," said Mubarak's neighbour Raheem. Many people were injured with the sudden entering of the mob.
The bullet had hit Mubarak's left chest area. "Doctors said the bullet entered his heart," said Rehman. The violence was so intense that no ambulance was ready to come in the vicinity. As the situation got worse, Mubarak's body was kept on the road, where it stayed for hours. "When the mob left that is when some police officials came," said Rehman. Mubarak's younger brother who lived with him was called and his body was taken in a police jeep to GTB, where he was declared dead on arrival.
"We are scared to come out of our houses," said a resident who stood with his brother. The residents feel the communal tension was created by the authorities. "Government could have stopped all this violence, but look they have
nothing to lose here. Whereas we have lost everything," he said.
(Image from firstpost.com)