NEW DELHI: The posh locality of New Friends Colony have never seen a situation as tense as it was on Monday. The lanes looked emptier as the charred DTC buses stood on the same spots where they were burnt on Sunday afternoon.
“This was really scary…I saw it from inside my house. I have never seen such situation in the many years I have lived here,” said a resident from one of the buildings just opposite to the spot where a Delhi Transport Corporation bus was burnt.
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“I suddenly heard loud voices from the street. I came out to the balcony to see what was happening. The buses were stopped by protestors and moments later more of them gathered. They started breaking the glasses and torched the bus,” stated one resident who did not wished to be named.
Another resident noted that the protestors went on a violent rampage and destroyed cars parked outside buildings.
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Not just in the upscale neighborhood of New Friends Colony, residents of areas around Jamia Millia Islamia were surprised about the escalation of violence on Sunday. Shops in Shaheen Bagh kept their shutters down on Monday
“Locals got involved during the protest. It is very difficult to differentiate how many of them were from these localities and how many others came in from outside. What happened yesterday was shocking. The police patrolling has been increased in the area,” said Zain Abbasi who lives in Sarai Jullena, next to the University.
Khusrou Ahmed, another resident said, “When protests get violent, it is very difficult to control – be it the mob or the police. There are policemen stationed but there is no assurance that things won’t go out of hand with rumours going around,” he mentioned.