Caravan News
NEW DELHI – As Delhi is set to go to polls on 12 May, communal tensions prevailed at East Delhi’s Trilokpuri allegedly after two dead cows were found near Sanjay Lake Park at the morning of Wednesday.
Senior journalist Vinod K. Jose alerted Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, home minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi police about the communal tension through his tweets.
Tension in Trilokpuri: cow killed at Sanjay Lake area. People gathering I spoke to saying they will take revenge. All you have is 3-4 police vans. @DelhiPolice @ArvindKejriwal @rajnathsingh will you step in fast? Trilokpuri has seen riots in past. And Delhi election 4 days away!
— Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) May 8, 2019
The police is saying that the situation is now under control. Morning walkers near the lake found the carcasses and informed the police, after which Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act has been slapped against the unknown accused, a senior police officer told The Quint.
The senior police officer said, as a preventive measure, police forces have been deployed in the area and that they are continuously monitoring the “rumours” being propagated. Local inquiry revealed that two persons were absconding in the area. The officer said that teams were looking for the suspects.
915am. Police saying situation under control. Can see at least fifty policemen on the street. But what messages have gone inside the Trilokpuri ghettos and houses not understood. pic.twitter.com/TZZvr8TZLc
— Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) May 8, 2019
“BJP may openly take the path of communal violence for the fear of getting defeated in the last two phases of polling. Delhites must think that they have ever heard such news of killing cow. How suddenly this is happening today. And who all are getting benefits from these communal tensions. If the BJP can use army for its political benefit, then the cow is an innocent animal. They have been using cow for their political mileage,” said social activist Nadeem Khan over the communal tensions in Delhi.
Trilokpuri, a resettlement colony consisting of former slum dwellers in East Delhi, has a history of communal tension. Of all the 2,700 Sikhs killed in the 1984 riots, 350 hailed from this locality. Years later, for the people of Trilokpuri, living in a state of strife continued when, in 2014, a small fight near a makeshift temple snowballed into communal riots leaving at least 50 people injured and resulting in a week-long curfew.
The year 2014 was a landmark year because since then, even as life in Trilokpuri restored normalcy, a latent tension continues to simmer.
Seemingly, small incidents shape-shifted to larger threats. In April 2015, a parking dispute turned into a Hindu-Muslim clash and police presence became a permanent part of the landscape.