Delhi’s Brahmapuri is currently the subject of discussion in the media and social media. The reason for this discussion is a report published on the leftist propaganda portal The Wire on Saturday, 14 January 2023. In this report, it is mentioned that a lawyer named Pradeep Sharma on Street No. 13 of Brahmapuri flagged a poster to appeal to Hindus not to sell their property to Muslims.
The report also quoted a doctor as claiming that Muslims had protected the homes of Hindus during the 2020 anti-Hindu riots and there was no violence in street number 13. At the end of the news, it was said that advocate Sharma was also contacted. To investigate all these claims, the Team of OpIndia reached Brahmapuri on Monday, 16 January 2023. What we found in Brahmapuri was blatantly denying The Wire’s claims.
‘The Wire’ put the Sharma family’s safety at risk
After reaching Brahmapuri, we contacted advocate Pradeep Sharma directly. Pradeep Sharma told that he is at the new Usmanpur police station and asked us to come there. It took us about 7 minutes to reach the police station crossing the dense traffic. Pradeep Sharma met us at the gate. When we asked him the reason for coming to the police station, he informed us about the threats he received after his news went viral on some media and social media, and said that he sought police protection because of the threats. Advocate Sharma accused ‘The Wire’ of conspiring against him by taking money from someone. He said ‘The Wire’ has put him and his family in danger.
The conversation stopped for a while due to Azaan in a loud voice
We were talking at the gate of the police station when suddenly two policemen who had just caught some accused passed by. The policemen asked us the reason for standing there. However, after knowing the media personnel, they left the place. During this time, Azaan started from the loudspeakers installed around the police station due to which we had to stop the interview for a while. Advocate Pradeep Sharma described those loud sounds of azaan as a very normal thing for the area.
‘I did not put up any poster’
After azaan’s noise was over, Advocate Sharma resumed the conversation. He told us that he did not put up the poster on which the controversy has arisen. According to Pradeep Sharma, he came to know about the posters with his name from social media. However, he has expressed suspicion that someone put up these posters in his name to stop the exodus of Hindus from the area, which is wrong. The lawyer also informed us that he had never discriminated between Hindus and Muslims while working in his own profession.
Hindus selling houses and migrating
Advocate Pradeep Sharma told us why he would stop others from selling their house when he was preparing to sell his own house. Referring to the condition of his area, he said that Hindus are constantly selling houses on his street. We were told that earlier there were Hindus around his house but now there are many Muslims there. We were also informed about Muslims buying a House of a Hindu Brahmin and building a mosque where people from outside the local street come to offer namaz. According to the advocate, the demographic balance in the area is changing rapidly. According to the lawyer, when the Muslim population crosses 50%, even he does not know what will happen.
Security concerns are the main reason for migration
According to Advocate Sharma, the main concern of him and other Hindus is security. He got emotional while saying that he should not be reminded of the Delhi riots. The lawyer said that rioters had entered his street and an attempt was made to attack the Shiva-Gauri temple at one end of the street. Posing as an eyewitness, Pradeep Sharma said that the rioters had fired bullets in front of his house. We were told that all the Hindus of Brahmapuri are no longer ready to face any such incident like the year 2020 again and that is why they want to move towards a safe place. Sharma mentioned as many as 50 Hindus around him who had sold their houses. This included a Hindu family whose house now has become a mosque. However, ‘The Wire’ has claimed in its report that there was no violence during the Delhi riots in Street No. 13.
Hindus were killed in Brahmapuri
Vinod Kumar, a resident of Brahmapuri, was killed by rioters in the 2020 anti-Hindu riots. He lived in palm street and was returning home with his son at the time of the incident. Apart from Vinod, Advocate Sharma said that a Hindu vegetable seller was also shot dead in street number 1. According to the lawyer, at least 4-5 Hindus were killed in Brahmapuri.
Muslims are safe because of Hindus
Stating that Brahmapuri Gali No. 13 has a 70% Hindu and 30% Muslim population, advocate Sharma said that Hindus protect Muslims in that street. Describing Hindus as tolerant, he said that despite suffering a lot in the 2020 riots, Hindus had protected the Muslims living among them and did not allow anyone to cause any harm to these Muslims.
I never talked to ‘The Wire’
While ‘The Wire’ has claimed to have spoken to Advocate Sharma in its report and claimed to have sided with him, Pradeep Sharma is denying this claim outright. He said that before his news went viral, he did not know any media outlet called ‘The Wire’. Pradeep Sharma also accused ‘The Wire’ of adding his statement published in its article without permission.
