Torched fuel station attracts curious visitors
NEW DELHI: The petrol filling station in Bhajanpura stands roughly at the geographical centre of the riot-hit north-east Delhi. The station that was torched in the arson is the only one located on the 5-km arterial road that connects the Yamuna embankment region near Khajoori with the Delhi-ghaziabad border in Loni.
Localities around the station include Bhajanpura, Yamuna Vihar, North Ghonda, Brijpuri and Chand Bagh – all of them have witnessed cases of murders, arson, loot and vandalism by armed mobs last week. In the aftermath of the communal violence, the petrol pump has started attracting a large number of curious visitors throughout the day. While most are passers-by who would stop their vehicles on spotting the charred remains of the petrol pump and click photos, a few would specifically come to the spot to gauge the scale of the violence that shook Delhi.
Locals have started offering them help in navigating through the riot-affected lanes around the area. In the last five days, HT met several such individuals – both curious visitors and those guiding them through the area.
“These lanes are tricky to navigate and strangers often lose their way. But, other than that, we need to show people how our houses and shops were damaged,” said Pawan Tomar, a resident of Yamuna Vihar C-block, a riot-affected neighbourhood close to the petrol pump.
Ashish Gupta, resident of North Ghonda, another neighbourhood , said: “We need people to see what loss we have suffered. For that, we need to help them navigate trough these lanes. What is the harm?”
Asked what is the incentive, both Tomar and Gupta said it is a voluntary service and they would no longer be there when the situation is back to “being normal”.
“Till Saturday, there were more of us because we did not have to go out for work. Either the roads were blocked or the shops and factories were closed. Things are slightly normal now.
Several people have resumed jobs. There is only a few of us left now. We too will be busy in a day or two,” said Tomar, who owns a dairy farm.
Gupta, on the other hand, worked as a delivery agent with a food delivery service and left his job last year, he said.
“We have never seen something like this. It is not that looking at the burnt petrol pump and the damaged neighbourhood gives me any joy, it is just something unbelievable,” said a 17-year-old who along with his friends were among the many visitors on Tuesday. They were students of an engineering entrance exam coaching centre in the neighbourhood.
On Wednesday, Ranjeet Kumar, a resident of Brijpuri, also a riot-affected locality across the road, started a makeshift vegbiryani shop near the petrol pump – charging Rs 30 for a plate.
“I used to do the same business near Mustafabad earlier. The shop had to be closed for a week because of violence. I set it up again this Saturday but there was hardly and customer for three days. I have decided to shift here now. This is a main road and the visitors here are potential customers,” he said.
Last Monday, a police official was killed and two senior officers – one a deputy commissioner of police and the other an assistant commissioner – were attacked by armed mobs near the petrol pump, before it was set ablaze, on February 24.
“We are doing our best to set it up again. The damage has been huge. So, it may take time. We have also registered a police complaint,” said Mahender Aggarwal, co-owner of the petrol pump.
Duty officers in the Bhajanpura Police Station, however, confirmed that the complaint has materialised into a First Information Report.
The station has been there since 1974, said Aggarwal adding, “Around 20 employees were present when the petrol pump was attacked. Some of them were thrashed by the mob when they tried to protect the cash register and save the building from arson. They fled in no time.”
The areas around the station, however, have no history of communal violence, at least since 1992 in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, several residents recalled.
These localities have a demographic pattern, the residents pointed out. Most landowners are Gujjars, but as the trans-yamuna region expanded, hundreds of unauthorised colonies proliferated with time. Now, these localities are inhabited by both Hindus and Muslims.