NEW DELHI: Normalcy may be taking baby steps in the communal-hit areas of northeast Delhi, but stories of destructions and despair are far from over. One such story is of Jagroshan Lal from Brijpuri, who is thankful for just being alive.

On February 24, Lal 60, had sensed the unrest. The news of riot had already spread in the neighbourhood. Apprehending violence, Lal had shut his shop. But the worst was waiting to happen. On Tuesday afternoon, a frenzied mob attacked his house and then set his shop on fire.

“It’s all charred now. All our efforts and hard work to set up our business has turned to ash,” he said. Lal’s son Ashok and family have now moved to Burari to a relative’s place are unwilling to return to Brijpuri.



“Children are very scared. Imagine the impact of seeing your house being burnt. Even my wife has refused to go back,” he said. “We don’t know who did it, but certainly they were aware that we are Hindus. There is no guarantee that they won’t come again for us,” Lal chipped in.

Recollecting the horror, Lal said, “The shop was shut but we were inside. The mob came from Mustafabad side and started throwing stones first and then hitting with weapon. They kept on banging the door and tried desperately to break in. Luckily we had locked the terrace. Around 50 of them were outside the house for three hours. I had no weapon to send them back, so I kept throwing water on them. “Our shop was already gutted  and because of short-circuit, the main entrance, which was wet had current. When the mob returned, they got an electric shock and stepped back. Immediately, I  and my son left through the back door,” Lal  remembered. “Sab jal gaya, bas hum bach gaye (All’s charred, but we managed to stayalive).”

‘Rioters may return’

Ashok claims they don’t feel safe anymore in Brijpuri and fear being targeted again. “There is no guarantee that they won’t come again.”