Searing signs of a pitched battle still dominate the boundary between Old Mustafabad and Shiv Vihar where a bulwark was raised using furniture from burnt-down shops and the charred skeleton of a car by the residents of the Muslim colony evidently to fend off the mob from the other side.

The residents of the Mustafabad colony narrated on Wednesday horror stories from the previous night during which a mosque was burnt and a madarsa vandalised.

The colony lies between the Hindu-dominated Brijpuri and Shiv Vihar. The locals alleged that even after the curfew was announced, a mob came in the night and burnt down the mosque and beat up its imam. The mosque is situated just near the anti-CAA protest site at Brijpuri.

At the other end of the colony, on the Shiv Vihar side, the signs of conflict were visible. An entire parking lot with over 20 cars was set on fire and several shops and houses were burnt down on Tuesday around 8pm.

A large swathe was covered with stones thrown during the night. The vehicles and buildings were set on fire with the use of Molotov Cocktails, local residents said, a fact borne out by the tens of empty bottles strewn all over the place.

The rioters also vandalised two schools located before the road ends.

Troopers stand guard in New Delhi on Wednesday (AP photo)

On Wednesday, the two colonies were a study in contrast. While the residents of Old Mustafabad were hesitant and seemingly afraid of coming out on the streets, there prevailed an atmosphere of easygoing calm at Shiv Vihar, where markets were thronged by people and youths roamed around on bikes and went about their businesses.

And again, towards the Chandbagh area, one saw further signs of destruction and faces strung with tension. The road leading to Chandbagh from Karawal Nagar bore the marks of mayhem that was wreaked the night before. Throughout this stretch, one could see burnt skeletons of bikes and shops blackened with soot. At one place, an entire fleet of automobiles was taken out of the showroom and set on fire on road last night. The fire brigade was trying to put out the fire even after 24 hours.

At Chandbagh, which has been one of the more prominent sites of the anti-CAA protest, the lights inside the lanes were turned off as the paramilitary and police force did rounds on roads. The residents of the colony stood in twos and threes at street corners only to scamper indoors at the very whiff of a warning from the police.