Ramaswami: Tarique Anwar, Amit Singh, Mukund Jha 05 Mar 2020 Delhi Violence: Shattered Hopes Relief camp set up by Delhi Waqf Board at Mustafabad Eidgah New Delhi: Garhi Mendu village in North-East Delhi’s Ghonda Assembly constituency wears a deserted look. Burnt, ransacked and looted houses and shops testify the large-scale sectarian violence that ravaged the area from February 23 to 26. The small village now has no Muslim family as all of them have fled after the rioters went on rampage on February 24-25. A%20mother%20garhmadhru%2005032020.jpg A mother is always the best friend. A riot victim of Garhi Mandu along with her children at Shriram Colony's relief camp. An uneasy calm still prevails there, with any stranger walking in the streets being looked upon with suspicion. A visible discomfort is palpable among the local population who don’t want the burnt debris to be photographed and reported. Aquil Ahmad (65) and his wife, however, managed to gather some courage and did not flee until they were attacked and forced to leave. When the only mosque in the village close to Ahmed’s house was ransacked, it sent panic among all Muslim families, who started fleeing in the dead of February 24 night . But he mustered courage and decided to stay there, assuming that the elderly and responsible people of the society would intervene and pacify the rioters. But he was wrong, as nothing of that sort happened. “Soon after maghrib azaan (call for the prayer offered after sunset), our mosque, which is close to my house, was vandalised on February 24 evening. Everything was destroyed. It created panic among Muslims in the village, and they began fleeing for safety. They should not have done so. I did not leave. But, it was a longest night for us. Aggressive chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and abusive anti-Muslim slogans were echoing in the air. We spent the entire night in extreme fear, hoping that the next morning will bring peace,” Ahmad told NewsClick at a relief camp set up by the Delhi government in a community marriage hall in Muslim-concentrated Shriram Colony in Khajuri.