Exclusive: Jahangirpuri Imam calls for peace, says two communities should speak to each other

New Delhi: An elderly imam has refuted the claims that Muslims instigated the violence on April 16 in the Jahangirpuri area of the national capital.

In an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat, Shahauddin, the Imam of the local mosque said: "That evening when we broke our fast and went out of the mosque, the Shobha Yatra stopped right there (in front of the mosque) and started playing the DJ loudly, shouting Jai Shree Ram. They also tried to put their flags on the mosque. That was the main reason for the scuffle."

Further emphasizing that he wishes only for peace and tranquillity, the imam said there was a need for the people from both the communities to speak with each other and resolve the matter. On being asked about Ansar -- one of the main accused in the violence -- the Imam said that "Ansar was not here when the incident happened, neither was he called here as is being alleged".

"He is not the kind of person who would get involved in something like this," he said. Ansar, arrested as one of the "main conspirators" behind the violence and a resident of Jahangirpuri, was also found to have a criminal history, along with the second accused Mohammad Aslam, who fired a bullet at a Delhi Police sub-inspector during the violence.

Expressing concerns over how the violence has disrupted the peace and daily lives of the people in the area, Shahauddin said, "The area has been sealed for the past few days which is adversely affecting the employment and income of the people living here. Our livelihoods are being majorly disturbed because of something that we did not even have a role to play in."

A total of nine people including eight police personnel and one local were injured in stone-pelting and arson after clashes broke out between two communities in Jahangirpuri during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on the evening of April 16. At least 20 people, including the two "main conspirators", were arrested after the officials launched a probe into the matter.

Despite an anti-riot force deployed in the violence-hit areas after the clashes, the situation has not yet let off the steam entirely with people mostly staying indoors. The incident caught major limelight with some locals alleging that the two communities have been living in the area peacefully for decades and blamed "outsiders" for the violence, though the blame game between the two communities is also at its peak. Meanwhile, the BJP demanded a probe into the role of "illegal immigrants" in the incident.