Uneasy calm after clashes,war of words

Eyewitnesses said it was this war of words which made a tense situation worse and led to escalation in violence which continued late into the evening.

The Tilak Vihar area has a large Sikh population owing to a 1984 riots resettlement colony in the locality.

Mandeep Singh,who was present at the spot where the violence erupted,alleged,“The situation only became worse because of the inflammatory language that they used. The entered our homes and attacked us.”

But Kapil Sood,a Valmiki who lives in Block C of Tilak Vihar,alleged,“It was they who constantly ridiculed us. They kept telling us that we were beneath them. They even set fire to our vehicles.”

Even late into the night,both parties involved in the conflict,separated by the police post in between,raised slogans against the other.

Both communities insisted that even if the police were present in the locality,they would stay awake all night,to protect themselves.

Independence Day it may have been,but the acrimonious words used by both communities only helped in prying open old wounds.

The trigger: police have three different accounts

New Delhi: The Delhi Police is grappling with three different versions on what triggered the clash between Sikhs and Valmikis.

Version 1: The argument began after two youths began performing stunts on their motorcycles and hit an elderly man. The man slapped the two boys who retaliated. Some allege that the two youths were inebriated,and summoned friends to attack the man. When members of the elderly man’s community saw him being assaulted,a fight ensued,which quickly escalated.

Version 2: It was a minor accident that caused the initial argument. A biker rode the vehicle over the foot of a pedestrian from another community. A woman who saw this intervened. This led to a fist fight and the situation got out of control.

Version 3: Police said children of both communities were flying kites on Thursday afternoon. A group started quarrelling over a kite that had been cut loose. It led to a fistfight. Elders of both communities got involved. The situation got out of hand when one side began pelting stones and the other retaliated.