Spooked by rumours, residents rush home in fear for their lives

NEW DELHI: Sukhwinder Kaur, a 38-year-old homemaker in west Delhi’s Tilak Nagar was out shopping when she heard neighbours talk about “gunshots” being fired near the Metro station on Sunday evening. Her instinctive reaction was to stock up on essential groceries and rush to her children, who were at home, alone.

Kaur and her family spent the rest of the evening discussing the possibility of violence spreading to their side of the city. Areas such as Tilak Nagar, Rajouri Garden and Janakpuri, all of which have a sizeable Sikh population, became extremely wary after Sunday’s rumours, as many families here had been witness to the 1984 anti-sikh riots in the national capital.

“I cannot explain what we went through in those three to four hours when people around started talking about riots starting here. There was panic everywhere. My neighbours had prepared to rush to their relatives’ houses for refuge,” Kaur said.

The rumours of violence and arson spread like wildfire in parts of west and south Delhi on Sunday and created fear and panic among residents, especially since it came days after communal riots in north-east Delhi.

The police were quick to dismiss the rumours, with officials patrolling lanes asking people not to believe any unverified news and social media exchanges. But shops remained shut and colonies locked their gates to prevent any outsiders from getting in,

“just in case”.

In Sewak Park near Dwarka Mor, shopkeepers started pulling down shutters on Sunday evening at 7, as rumours of people being attacked in Dwarka Sector 3 spread. Till 2am, Hafeez Mohammad Salim, a cleric at a local mosque, said it all started with rumours of two people being attacked in Subhash Park, followed by unverified reports of attack in Matiala and Dwarka.

“Shopkeepers hurriedly closed their shops and people started running towards their homes. Most men in the colony came out on the streets and we decided to guard our colony lanes,” Salim said.

He said that it was only after senior police officials met people and gave reassurances that people left for their homes.

“For seven hours, there was tension, fear and panic among locals. We tried to calm people down after checking with our friends and family in other areas,” said Mohammad Wasim, a resident of Sewak Park.

Even in the gated colonies of Dwarka, resident welfare associations (RWA) closed exit gates, increased security deployment and dimmed lights. In many sectors, all outsiders, including the delivery persons, were checked thoroughly before entering.

“We did not want to take any chance with safety. Till late at night, we were in touch with the local station house officer (SHO) to get updates. We have, however, issued a notice today (Monday) asking residents to refrain from believing any news over social media,” said Prabhakar Reddy, president of United Welfare of Residents Association, a common RWA body in Dwarka Sector 14.

To control the situation, Delhi Police issued multiple alerts reassuring people that no violence had erupted in these parts.

In Khanpur, near the public bus depot, the rumours led to panic among people who had come to attend a wedding. Vedpal, a resident of Aya Nagar and area councillor, said he was at attend the wedding in Khanpur, when he suddenly saw people leaving after hearing rumours of violence in the vicinity.

Jamia Nagar, and nearby areas — which have been tense since violence broke out in northeast Delhi, owing to the ongoing sit-in at Shaheen Bagh — reacted aversely to Sunday’s rumours.

Noor Ahmed, a resident of Shaheen Bagh, said “There is still fear among people here. Especially because we have been at the centre of all politics, who knows when someone instigated by the rumours attacks us?” he said.

Halima Akhtar a resident of Madanpur Khadar said, “Around 7.30pm, people started panicking and shopkeepers started pulling down shutters. People were telling others to run. I stepped out to find what happened. They said they saw police approaching and something happened in Madanpur Khadar. The elders then quelled the rumours and situation came under control within an hour.”

Things got tense in south Delhi too. In Govindpuri, Kalkaji and CR Park the news of a “mob” heading towards the area with weapons around 8.30pm created panic.

RWAS in Kalkaji and CR Park closed entry gates as a “precautionary” measure, and this was communicated to the residents to prevent any further rumours blowing up.

The RWA of Pocket 52, for instance, messaged residents around 9.30pm that “As of now there is absolutely no cause of concern. Kindly do not panic. For the sake of extra security all gates have been sealed. All cars entering will be scanned and checked before entry is allowed.”

For residents of Govindpuri and , something was amiss since Sunday morning. A domestic help, a resident of Tughlaqabad who asked not to be named, had informed the household where she works that “There will be some communal problem in the evening. I overheard people in our market discussing how there can be riots.”

On Monday morning, she recounted that there was mayhem in their area. Her husband and son, both of whom drive an e-rickshaw, were out ferrying passengers in Govindpuri while she waited for them in their house. “They were not answering my calls. After some time, my son came in, and said people were running about.”