Sunday, October 5, 2008

My Tryst with L-18 Building, Batla House

( A poster campaigm launched by Jamia Students )



( L-18 building where Delhi Police Gunned down alleged terrorist)
An uneasy calm prevails not only inside the L-18 building located near Khalilulah Mosque in Batla House, where the Delhi Police have gunned down two suspected terrorist namely Mohd Sajid and Mohd Atif, but also in the lanes and by-lanes of the buildings.
Call it the fear psychosis created by the unexpected and surprising assault of Special cell of the Delhi Police on the hideouts of alleged terrorist in Batla house at Jamia Nagar or the self restrain approach of the residents, the alleyways leading to the encounter site or the L-18 building wears a completely desereted look.
Such is the sense of fear among the building residents that when i started clicking the pictures of the notorious building, a resident of L-18 building drags backward and prevented his 10 year old child from peeking from a window, who was curiously watching me taking snaps.
A day before the encounter, the lanes leading to the encounter site were used to be so much crowded that you can't pass through your way without rubing your shoulders with the fellow pedestrians.
Even after 4 weeks of the dreaded gunfight between police and alleged militants, Delhi police maintains a strong vigil of the building by posting half a dozen personnel.
There is no denying the fact that incidents like recent shootout in Batla house has created an utter atmosphere of fear among the residents of not only Batla House, but the adjacent enclaves of Zakir Nagar and Abul Fazal too.


Though referred by some as ghetto or the Sub standard resedential locality, the Jamia Nagar area houses some of the best muslim intellectuals in the country. And that is the reason that people in the Jamia nagar area raised their voice to demand a probe into the police encounter and the manner in which Delhi police has carried out his mission to eliminate two suspected terrorist alleged to be masterminds of Delhi serial blast.
A Jamia Student persuing his Bachelors in Engineering grumbles and said that incidents like these (encounter) has defame the whole resedential enclave and put a dent on the credibility of the residents who resides in Jamia Nagar, Okhla.
He further argues that Such acts( terrorist violence and subsequent man hunt by police) has defamed the entire community for a wrongful acts of some misguided youths".

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