The residents of Muslim-majority district, just 70 kilometers from Delhi, where the G20 heads of state are meeting, have expressed disappointment that they were being subjected to ‘retaliatory action’ by the police.
Speaking to Independent Urdu, several local Muslim citizens have supported this impression. according to the locals, the administration and the government all know who caused the riot, who has done it, and who is suffering the punishment.
Bajrang Dal rally and riots
During the riots, a post was also made on the social networking website X (formerly Twitter) in which a local leader at a rally of an organization called Bajrang Dal is convincing the crowd that there should be no ‘barber’ shop in the area. However, Bajrang Dal has denied involvement in these riots.
After that, the property of the Muslim population of Mewat was damaged causing a loss of lakhs of rupees to the Muslim citizens of Mewat. The majority of Muslim families in Mewat were wealthy and owned businesses and markets at the local level. But now all their savings have been destroyed.
Haji Sharif was also one of the major business Muslim personalities of Mewat. He told Independent Urdu that ‘Bhatia coaching center was mine. There was a restaurant. There was a pizza shop. There was a salon. There is a service station. There was a medical lab. All have money invested. Each projector is installed in the coaching center at a cost of Rs 65, 70 lakhs. Two satellite receivers were kept there worth two and a half lakh rupees. So little money was invested.
All these properties of Haji Sharif have now been destroyed. A similar case happened with Mohammad Arif. He owned 22 of the 45 shops located at Medical Gate, the commercial area of Mewat.
Arif told Independent Urdu that 22 of his shops were “liquidated”. It was a system of earning. They have made it all zero. Brought right on the sidewalk. That’s what happened to everyone. It’s totally messed up. The money was invested in the shops after selling the land. Now tell me what to do.
Maulana Hakeemuddin, a religious figure of Mewat, described the situation as ‘horrifying’ and told Independent Urdu that the ‘Muslim population has been humiliated. This is done. There is a kind of fear that is here to stay. Here’s to earning food. But how can it be possible to earn food while living in an atmosphere of despair?’
This fear has also been confirmed by another Muslim citizen Muhammad Hanif. He said that we may have to sell the land. Not sold yet. But in order to get their work done or to save the children, the land will have to be sold.
