KANPUR: It was evening of December 6, 1992. The Babri Masjid had been brought down to a rubble. Mohan Yadav and Sohan Singh were in an animated discussion in Kanpur's Barra area when they saw about 300 Muslims fl eeing, trying to take refuge in the Hari Masjid (mosque painted green) in the area.
"They were carrying lists in hand and knew where Muslim families in the southern part of Kanpur lived. They were hunting the Muslims down. They were carrying weapons and had come prepared," said Mohan, now in his 60s. Since the evening of December 6, 1992, and the next few days, Kanpur burnt in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Exactly 25 years later, residents - both Hindus and Muslims - those affected by the days of rioting, of sleepless, harrowing nights rife with rumours and true incidents, recall gory details of the tragic month. Barra-II witnessed the worst carnage.
Yadav and Singh, while recalling the "bhayanak" day, remember how they, along with a few others - Mangali Verma and Rajeev Yadav - helped save some of them, though the administration had asked people not to venture close to the riot-hit areas. "All our lives, we have had tea together over addas. They were like our brothers. How could we have kept away when they were in danger?" said Sohan Singh.
"Even as we encircled the open truck to let Muslims be taken fi rst to Sachendi and then to the refugee camp at Green Park stadium, some police offi cers asked us to let the truck full of people be pushed into the Pandu river," added Sohan. "It started when Bharat Tailors was looted and burnt. Rioters came to Barra. Stuck inside the Hari Masjid, we could hear slogans and sounds of fi ring. This continued till December 10," said Mohammad Suleman Jilani, mutawwali (caretaker) of the Hari Masjid.
Jilani said while offi cers at Govind Nagar police station did not act, Barra police station in-charge Prem Babu Sharma and outpost in-charge Jai Narayan Tiwari, were saving people's lives. "In Damodar Nagar, a house was set on fi re with 13 people inside it when Jai Narayan Tiwari helped them get out through the back door with the help of a rope, even as his own motorbike was burnt," said Jilani.
It was also because of the few Hindus of Barra area that another mosque in Nayi Basti area was saved from rioters, recalled Jilani's family. "When the area was under curfew, these men would under their protection, take a subzi-wallah to the area, so that food be made available to Muslim families under siege," they said.
"They were carrying lists in hand and knew where Muslim families in the southern part of Kanpur lived. They were hunting the Muslims down. They were carrying weapons and had come prepared," said Mohan, now in his 60s. Since the evening of December 6, 1992, and the next few days, Kanpur burnt in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition.
Exactly 25 years later, residents - both Hindus and Muslims - those affected by the days of rioting, of sleepless, harrowing nights rife with rumours and true incidents, recall gory details of the tragic month. Barra-II witnessed the worst carnage.
Yadav and Singh, while recalling the "bhayanak" day, remember how they, along with a few others - Mangali Verma and Rajeev Yadav - helped save some of them, though the administration had asked people not to venture close to the riot-hit areas. "All our lives, we have had tea together over addas. They were like our brothers. How could we have kept away when they were in danger?" said Sohan Singh.
"Even as we encircled the open truck to let Muslims be taken fi rst to Sachendi and then to the refugee camp at Green Park stadium, some police offi cers asked us to let the truck full of people be pushed into the Pandu river," added Sohan. "It started when Bharat Tailors was looted and burnt. Rioters came to Barra. Stuck inside the Hari Masjid, we could hear slogans and sounds of fi ring. This continued till December 10," said Mohammad Suleman Jilani, mutawwali (caretaker) of the Hari Masjid.
Jilani said while offi cers at Govind Nagar police station did not act, Barra police station in-charge Prem Babu Sharma and outpost in-charge Jai Narayan Tiwari, were saving people's lives. "In Damodar Nagar, a house was set on fi re with 13 people inside it when Jai Narayan Tiwari helped them get out through the back door with the help of a rope, even as his own motorbike was burnt," said Jilani.
It was also because of the few Hindus of Barra area that another mosque in Nayi Basti area was saved from rioters, recalled Jilani's family. "When the area was under curfew, these men would under their protection, take a subzi-wallah to the area, so that food be made available to Muslim families under siege," they said.
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