“We will stand by him (Akbar) no matter what. He is a good person and this should not have happened to him. The men who are responsible for this, each of them, must be identified in the videos and booked. Even if they want to kill me for supporting a Muslim, let them go ahead. I will support him,” Pooja Dixit, a resident of Ashok Nagar, told The Quint.

The violence that began in northeast Delhi on 23 February spread to Ashok Nagar on 25 February, where two mosques, eight shops, and homes of Muslims were vandalised, burned and looted, including Akbar’s meat shop.

He said he has lost items worth Rs 2 lakh in the looting. As he broke into tears, the colony’s women came forward to console him.