On ground zero, scars lurk under new paint

NEW DELHI: Six years after the Feb 2020 communal riots in northeast Delhi, the neighborhoods that bore the brunt of the violence are slowly recovering.

The scars remain but markets have reopened, and homes are being rebuilt. The violence claimed at least 53 lives and left over 500 injured.


In Tyre Market, Gokalpuri, nearly 70 to 75 shops were gutted. Rebuilding required years of painstaking work. When TOI visited the area, mechanics were busy repairing vehicles, and shopkeepers were attending to customers. Though parts of the market saw serious damage, the place now hums with activity and the steady bustle of commerce.

"Our businesses were reduced to ashes," market association president Nazar Mohammad said. "We needed funds to start rebuilding, and with govt help and other organisations, we managed to reopen our shops. The recovery took time.... It has been five to six years. While we have recovered to an extent, we still haven't fully regained everything we lost." Shops were not only burnt, he said. They were looted for three days.

Tyre Market, built in 2000, has 224 shops. Noman (40), a trader, said the situation back then was "dire". Compared to 2020, "things have improved significantly," he said. "The market is gradually getting back its rhythm."

In Shiv Vihar, two schools were destroyed and at least two people were killed. The most horrific was the Dilbar Negi case. He was burnt alive inside Anil Sweets. Witnesses said rioters set fire to all the shops in the area. Negi was trapped inside. "We were running to save ourselves. It took nearly three years to rebuild our shop," a witness said. Even today, burn marks remain on some buildings.

Gulshan Kumar (55) recalled fleeing his shop when the violence broke out. "It was completely destroyed. They burnt everything. Later, Covid hit us hard. I lost Rs 10 lakh but received only Rs 2 lakh in compensation," he said. By 2023, he had rebuilt his shop. Most houses in the area were reconstructed, he said.

At Chand Bagh Puliya, many shopkeepers had vacated their premises in the months after the riots. Intelligence Bureau officer Ankit Sharma was allegedly stabbed and beaten to death near the bridge (puliya), and his body was later found in a drain. Over the last two years, several shops in this area have changed hands. New tenants have moved in. Bilal Ansari (28) now runs a fabric store near the bridge. "Most shopkeepers are new. The old ones left out of fear," he said. His 19-year-old co-worker added that despite initial concerns, business and daily life have largely returned to normal.

Residents often point to an old building next to the fabric store that remains locked. Its owner was booked in a riots case.

A by-lane opposite the commercial stretch leads into Moonga Nagar, where residents recounted the tension in Feb 2020. Numan Malik (31), who runs a store nearby, summed up how the place has changed although it all seems normal now. "People have become quiet and distant. Once close neighbors had stopped speaking to each other," he said.