"What's making you scared? You're not dead in the fire": Residents allege police apathy

Residents of Chand Bagh in northeast Delhi shared horrific accounts of how their homes and shops were torched in the communal violence while they kept calling the police control room, where they were allegedly snubbed by officials.

Distraught and scared, Muslims gathered at Chand Bagh to talk about their innumerable calls to the Delhi Police.

The colonies of Bhajanpura and Chand Bagh, which are divided by just a main road, are now standing divided on views of each other after the violence in northeast Delhi over the past three days that has claimed over 20 lives so far.

Both groups, however, believe that the rioters came masked and in groups on vehicles.

"While I ran a chicken shop, my two brothers had fruit stalls. All our shops are completely gutted," Mohd Azad told PTI. "I called the police control room several times and I was told, 'What is making you scared? You are not dead in the fire'."
"They began shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' and vandalising the shops even on this side, which is labelled as Hindu colony," Chaudhary said. "The rioters came here and vandalised on both sides to spark riots to make both communities fight."