NEW DELHI: Communal violence reached a new peak on Sunday [Sept 6] when large gangs of Sikh and Hindu hooligans, armed with various weapons and some with tins of petrol in their hands, went round freely in Delhi and New Delhi, committing widespread murder and arson.

The famous Connaught Place, the rich and fashionable shopping centre of New Delhi, was for several hours completely at the mercy of the hooligans who broke open all the Muslim shops, smashed glass panes and looted goods and wares. The pavement stalls which were mostly owned by the Muslims were overturned and smashed. A number of Muslims were killed during these disturbances, some of them in their shops while offering resistance to the marauders. The local authorities expressed their inability to assess the number of killed and injured in Sunday`s carnage. Many bombs were thrown at Muslim houses, shops and pedestrians, causing deaths, injuries and severe damage to property.

[It was also reported from New Delhi that] Sardar Patel, Home Minister, in an appeal to the armed forces and members of the civil administration of Delhi, warned them against partisanship with any one community in maintaining law and order in the city. Dawn Karachi