NEW DELHI: Days after communal riots hit east Delhi, tension is simmering in another part of the capital with a group of villagers resolving not to allow Muharram procession in their area.

The decision taken at a ‘maha-panchayat’ held in Bawana village in northwest Delhi on Sunday had the support of local elected representatives, BJP MLA Ghuggan Singh and Congress councillor Devinder Poni, both of whom present at the meeting.

“They (Muslims) can do whatever they want in their houses but they have no right to disturb others. I congratulate the youth from the area for taking up this cause (to stop Muharram procession in Bawana market) and support you,” Singh said, addressing the congregation attended by heads of several local Jat-dominated villages.

The maha-panchayat held in Bawana village of northwest Delhi was attended by around 2,000 locals. Several speakers used provocative language, claiming that members of the minority community had been indulging in atrocities and assaulting their women for years.

Muslims in the area, most of whom live in a JJ colony set up about a decade ago, have agreed not to take out the Muharram procession in Jat-dominated areas. “We have submitted to the local authorities and police our decision to carry out procession in the colony itself to avoid any confrontation. We want to live peacefully,” said one of their leaders.

The annual procession, in which Shia Muslims mourn the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammad, is to take place on Tuesday.

Muslim leaders said tension started building up in the area about a month ago. “I have been living in this locality for 10 years. We haven’t seen this kind of tension before,” said 61-year-old Taj Mohammad, who runs a small cloth shop in the JJ Colony.

Several shopkeepers in the area said they would shut shop on Tuesday afternoon in view of the situation.

In a minority-dominated pocket of the JJ Colony, the youth appeared restive. “Today, they are asking us to not take out the holy procession in the market. Tomorrow they may ask us not to mark Muharram at all. How long can we take this?” said a young man.

“Many would say Muharram procession has been going on in this area for years so it should be allowed. That’s illogical. If they can’t respect our decisions, they should go away,” said Pradeep Mathur, one of the convenors of the maha-panchayat.

There was heavy deployment of police in the Bawana area on Sunday evening. Police said even a minor provocation may lead to violence in the area, as had happened recently in east Delhi’s Trilokpuri.