The communal clashes in northeast Delhi were nothing like what septuagenarian Haseeb Ahmed, who has witnessed the 1984 and 1992 violence, had seen in his life.
Ahmed, who worked as a furniture worker and has now been retired for almost 10 years, is settled at Maujpur area, one of the main pockets where rioters ran amok after clashes between citizenship law supporters and protesters on Sunday.
"I came to live here in 1981. It's been 39 years and there have been incidents in 1984, 1992, but nothing had happened here," the 70-year-old man said. "But this is the first time that I have seen people from outside coming here, attacking homes and people, and vandalising and setting properties on fire."
"The situation is too risky to venture out for purchasing. There are mobs that are ready to attack anyone they find," the septuagenarian said, adding: "We'll manage it someway, the Almighty will help."