A Kashmiri family living in south Delhi’s Sidharth Extension for the past 11 years have alleged that they were attacked by the residents of the society on Thursday night “because of being Kashmiri Muslims”.
They further alleged that they were called “terrorists” and asked to “go back to Kashmir”.
The residents’ welfare association (RWA) of the area has denied the allegations and claimed that the injuries suffered by the family of four, including three women, were self-inflicted.
The RWA added that no one used the term ‘Kashmiri Muslims or terrorists’.
A 47-year-old resident said she was taking a stroll with a few friends when she saw the Kashmiri man talking to someone.
Carrying sticks
“As soon as he saw us, he started commenting on the sticks that we were carrying, which were essentially for stray dogs running amok. I refused to respond but he then asked me to withdraw the molestation case that I had lodged against him,” the woman alleged.
An argument ensued between the two after which the man allegedly pushed her. The man has denied the allegations. Within a few minutes, the three women relatives of the man and about 40 other residents gathered, and a clash broke out between the two groups.
RWA president Shesh Narayan Pandey claimed that there was a history to the clash and that they had been at loggerheads with the family several times.
Mr. Pandey said that in December last year, the 38-year-old had complained to the DDA regarding alleged illegal encroachments by residents in the area, following which they had received notices of being surveyed by the DDA. The second issue, he said, was the dog menace in the society.
“There are several dogs here and one particular dog has been biting people. This family feeds the dogs and we have been demanding that the dogs be removed,” said Mr. Pandey.
Responding to the claims, the 38-year-old said: “These people cannot kill us if we feed dogs. We have been doing animal welfare activities for a long time.”
Letters to police
The Kashmiri family said that the residents’ association had written letters to the police stating that they were “aiding terrorists”.
In a letter addressed to the Home Minister and the Lieutenant-Governor among others in April, Mr. Pandey wrote: “We have serious apprehensions that these people are involved in certain illegal activities, including harbouring terrorists. They have taken five flats on rent and the residents have noticed movement of unknown and suspicious people at night in the colony”.
The family has alleged that their women have been molested and harassed several times by the male residents of the colony.
The family said that they had sent their parents back to Kashmir a while back because of the “hostile environment”.
Mr. Pandey refuted the allegations and said that “all molestation claims are false”. “In fact, the men now fear crossing paths with the family’s women because they threaten to falsely implicate them”.
