At least four students of Farroqui madrasa in Brijpuri area of northeast Delhi have been missing since Tuesday night, residents said on Saturday. They said Farooqui mosque and the madrasa were torched by rioters on Tuesday afternoon, killing Jalaluddin, an imam, and injuring another senior imam. Riyaz Ahmed, a resident of the Brij Puri area, whose 12-year-old son studied in the madrasa, told IANS: "At least four children have been missing from the madrasa since Tuesday night."
Ahmed said after the violence on Tuesday afternoon, the students were sheltered in the madrasa. "Suddenly at night, a mob attacked the madrasa and since then these children have been missing," he said. He also showed clothes, books, bags, blankets and beds of the students in the madarsa scattered around in the aftermath of the Tuesday violence.
He said about 200 children studied at the madrasa. "But only over 10-15 poor children stay here," he said. He said the number of children missing from the madrasa will be clear only after the senior imam returned to the mosque after being discharged from the hospital.
When asked if the area residents have approached the police about the missing children, Neyaz, a resident, said, "People are still in shock and fear." Neyaz (name changed on his request) is acting as the caretaker of the mosque and the madrasa. He said on Tuesday, a large crowd first torched the mosque, beat up the imam and then attacked the madrasa located behind the mosque.
"You can see the destruction... the temples of the area and Hindu families were saved by Muslims, but we are still unable to understand why the mosque and madrasa were targeted," said Neyaz. Ahmed said many people are yet to approach the police fearing they would be treated as "rioters". On Friday, officials of Delhi Police Crime Branch visited the mosque and the madrasa.
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