When Trilokpuri erupted in violence on Diwali night, the 'A-to-Z' shop in Block 27 was gutted. Some people gained access to the shop from its roof, set fire to it and escaped. Owned by Saira Banu, A-to-Z and everything in it was reduced to ashes. Damages ran into lakhs of rupees. Saira Banu's family is distraught. But she is not quitting the locality, as scores of Sikh families had done after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

What is the real story in Trilokpuri, what led to the riots? Hazarding a guess is difficult. There's a fine line between speculation and rumour, of which there have been plenty.

One fact, however, cannot be refuted. Trilokpuri is on the verge of transformation: The Delhi Metro is almost at its door. "Very soon it will be running. A Metro station is coming up close to where the maximum disturbances took place. Property prices will rise dramatically. But nobody is selling," a property dealer told dna, with the warning: "Do not print my name, or my shop's name."

He is right, even if anonymous. Wherever the Delhi Metro has gone, property prices have shot up. It turned rundown places like Uttam Nagar in West Delhi, and cut-off localities like Dwarka, also in west Delhi, into prime localities. Glass facades became the fashion. Trilokpuri is about to witness that sort of transformation. "And there are people who want to position themselves for the kill," said the property dealer.

On that point, too, he is right. Right now, Trilokpuri, a resettlement colony with 80% Dalit and 20% Muslim population, is downright poor. There's a sprinkling of Sikhs. Thirty years ago Block 32 was entirely Sikh. The 1984 anti-Sikh riots cleared the Sikhs out of Trilokpuri.

"Trilokpuri is 90% low income group. Most men are engaged in sanitation work. Women add to the family income as domestic help in neighbouring localities like Mayur Vihar and Patparganj. The young are a disillusioned lot. Most of them are school dropouts. They have plenty of time to kill. Trilokpuri is home to bootleggers, and contract killers. People come from as far as Andhra Pradesh to hire hit-men. Petty crime is common. Fights break out frequently," a police officer told dna.

That Trilokpuri borders Delhi is another problem. "It is porous. It is safe sanctuary. Criminals commit crimes in UP, and find shelter in Trilokpuri. We have told the Noida police to keep a tight check on criminals escaping into Trilokpuri but it doesn't seem to be working," said the police officer.

Last week's disturbances cleared many people out of Trilokpuri. The locality had become home to the shiftless. Immigrants from Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, who eked out a living plying cycle-rickshaws and three-wheelers autos. "Bhaag Gaye Sir, Sab Bhaag Gaye" one of them said, adding that he was "safe" as he had lodgings right next to "the Hanuman Mandir."