“When the crowd reached Mahavir Chowk, things went out of control. MP Sanjeev Balyan came there with 20-25 vehicles full of people. He called police officials and told them something after which the police started pelting stones and bricks on the protestors and lathi-charge started,” Aleem Siddiqui, who lives near Ahilyabai Chowk (formerly Sarwat chowk/District hospital chowk) tells me.

Eyewitnesses at Mahavir Chowk, the shopkeepers who were present at the spot that day, contradict Siddiqui.

“We saw the whole episode in live telecast. Why would the police pelt stones? The road was barricaded and the police was blocking the rioters from going ahead. Someone from the crowd threw a stone at the police but they didn’t react. Then MP Balyan’s cavalcade stopped at the Chowk. Mantri ji ko dekhte he pata nahi kya josh sa aaya inme, pattharabazi shuru kardi. (Don’t know what got into them on seeing Balyan, they started pelting stones). Then police used force and chased them back,” says Nakul Dhaniya who has a stationary shop at Mahavir Chowk and saw the events unfold last Friday.

Rajat Chugh’s sweets shop is right at the corner on the chowk, at the exact spot where the crowd had gathered and was jostling with the cops to break the barricade. He says the police started lathicharge only after the mob got violent and started stone pelting.

“We had downed the shutters of our shop but were standing right outside. The mob of rioters was saying ‘bus adda chalo, bus adda chalo’. I think their plan was to reach Bus Station and burn state transport buses there,” Chugh tells me.

“Traders from the Aggarwal market also gathered in large numbers on the chowk as the mob of rioters was pelting stones on their shops. They were joined in by general public too. Initially, the police force was small so the general people helped the officials by standing with them against the violent crowd. They were soon joined by security personnel from other areas and the general public then moved away,” he adds.

Public came out in support of the police forces at kacche wali sadak also and saved a police picket from being set on fire. There were only four policemen there including one woman constable.

“I saw six police vehicles coming from Madina chowk and a mob of hundreds of rioters chasing them. Window panes of police vehicles were broken. Cops were bleeding. They had gone there to stop the crowd from marching towards Shiv Chowk. The mob had petrol bombs and they would’ve set the picket on fire had the general public not gathered here in large numbers,” Ayush Garg whose stationary shop is right next to the Kevalpuri Police chowki tells me.

Garg says that Hindu residents of a nearby colony didn’t let the mob go ahead and saved the cops from getting lynched. The police station sort of separates the Muslim areas from Hindu colonies.

There was stone pelting from both sides for almost half an hour. Only after the RAF personnel came, the crowds from both sides dispersed.