India: death toll increases in New Delhi where violence continues

Text by: RFI Follow

Since Sunday, rioters armed with sabers and sometimes even pistols have been wreaking havoc in New Delhi. The death toll rose to 20 on Wednesday February 26. On the outskirts, where tensions are concentrated, the situation remains very precarious.

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With our correspondent in New Delhi , Sébastien Farcis

On the virtual front line of these battles which ignited a large part of this zone of the northeast of New Delhi, there is on a side a district with Hindu majority and on the other, a zone mainly Moslem.

Between the two is a large avenue strewn with stones that served as projectiles, as well as burnt-out motorcycles and tractors. This clearly shows the level of violence that this neighborhood has suffered over the past two days.

A huge warehouse of tires and automotive equipment, which covers a hundred square meters, is now nothing but ashes. Thousands of burnt tires and burnt-out car carcasses spread across the area.

On the street, a Muslim business was attacked by the Hindus on Monday February 24. Hindus have swept through the neighborhood, with seemingly violent aftershocks from the other side.

This intercommunity violence has already claimed the lives of 20 people and left nearly 200 injured. They mark one of the worst fires in the Indian capital for decades. This Wednesday, the situation is calmer in this area northeast of New Delhi.

A situation that escapes the police

The violence began as a peaceful group of Muslims sought to organize a sit-in against the controversial citizenship law on February 23. It was then that a Hindu nationalist leader of the ruling party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called on its members and supporters to revolt. It lit the fuse, according to many people on the spot.

In multiple incidents reported by the Indian press, Hindu armed groups have attacked places and people identified as Muslim. Concordant testimonies mention gangs shouting “ Jai Shri Ram ” (“Long live the god Ram”).

Concerned about the " alarming situation ", Delhi's chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal , called on Twitter the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to establish a curfew in the area and deploy the army .

" Despite their efforts, the police are unable to control the situation and inspire confidence, " said the chief executive. Law enforcement is the responsibility of the central government in Delhi, a territory with special status. The police are accused of complicity, of inaction with the Hindus.

For his part, Narendra Modi launched a call for calm on Wednesday on Twitter. “ I call on my sisters and brothers in Delhi to maintain peace and fraternity at all times. It is important that calm and normal conditions be restored as soon as possible, ”tweeted the Indian prime minister.

Peace and harmony are central to our ethos. I appeal to my sisters and brothers of Delhi to maintain peace and brotherhood at all times. It is important that there is calm and normalcy is restored at the earliest.

Paramilitary intervention

Since the evening of February 25, it has been the paramilitaries who have come in force on this front line to try to prevent the two camps from confronting each other again.

The vandals have now left the streets, the paramilitaries have replaced them. They parade, try to disperse any group that forms. But when we speak to the residents hidden in their house, we realize that the impact of this religious violence is still enormous.

The majority of Hindus say that it is the fault of the demonstrators against the citizenship law, of Muslims in general, if this violence broke out. Muslims say they saw the Hindus attack them directly with the support of the police. They therefore logically feel very frightened.

It has been the worst religious violence in New Delhi for decades, and it is not yet known how far it can go. The two communities live in distrust, even fear of the other.

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