“It is the holy month of Ramzan and people get too sensitive at such a time. We are suspicious too, leave alone the youth,” said Irfanullah Khan.

The area had witnessed riots and tension in the month of Ramzan last year. A police chowki had been burnt down after a policeman allegedly insulted an aged Mufti and threw his Quran Sharif in a drain.

Subsequently, a police station was set up in the area to ensure a larger khaki presence and a better policing network.

As anticipated, the situation got tense after the encounter too, but Khan and some professors from the university helped calm the protestors outside L-18, barely a few metres from the Khaliullah Masjid.

Fayyaz Ahmed Khan, a lecturer in the engineering department of the university, was near the spot where the encounter took place. He had said on Friday: “The failure of the system is apparent, but we need to stick to the judgment of our brave policemen.”