Id festivities calm anxieties

By Lakshmi Balakrishnan

NEW DELHI, DEC. 28. ``Some images stay with you for years. Just as some voices keep coming back.'' That is how a resident of Batla House in Jamia Nagar here today summed up the after-effects of this past Tuesday's police action in which one suspected militant was shot dead.

Gripped by tension until last evening, the area was all dressed up for Id-ul-Fitr celebrations today, with children in new clothes enlivening the streets with their screams and little games, families moving out in groups and often stopping by to buy gifts. The market was abuzz with festive activity.

Two Police Control Room vans guarding the entrance to Batla Chowk did not have much to do, much to the relief of the armed men sitting inside. But despite their best efforts, local residents found a tinge of anxiety creeping into the celebrations, with conversation often veering towards Tuesday's events.

``We celebrated the festival as usual. We had some guests coming over to our place. But the incident has left a bad taste. And since it happened right next door, we cannot even claim to be unaffected,'' says Dr. G.M. Bhatt, who lives in the flat right opposite the one where the slain militant had lived for the past several weeks.

Ifteqaar Ahmed, who runs a watch repair shop at Bhogal, shifted to Batla House only a few months ago. His four minor children run into the house every time a PCR van makes a round of the area, to give their father the ``warning'' signal. ``The children were badly shaken up after the incident. My daughter refused to go to sleep, afraid of the sounds she had heard,'' he says.

This Id was to be a special occasion for Sayeeda (name changed). With just a few days to go for her wedding, this is probably the last Id she would spend at her parents' place. But the shoot-out has changed her plans. The celebrations have been in a low key, with the family yet to come to terms with the happenings in the neighbourhood.

``It all happened virtually nextdoor. I have been unable to sleep since then. The sound of the firearms keeps coming back. Normally for Id I apply mehendi on my hands and dress up in new clothes, but this time the enthusiasm is not there,'' she says.

Absolute strangers walking up to the house nextdoor and holding conversations has become a common sight. ``People living far across the street have been coming over and looking at the place as if it were a picnic spot. And though they know nothing about the people living here, they seem to have these ready-made theories that are being floated,'' rues another resident of the area.

Doubts over the authenticity of the police encounter with militants still linger on but there are many more persons now backing the police action. ``The police must have had some definite information, otherwise they would not have reacted so fast,'' reasons a local shopkeeper.

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