The incident took place at Srivastava's house in Dishad Garden at around around 7.15 pm.

According to Srivastava, as Mahavir Jayanti was also being observed on Monday, the Delhi Yuva Shiv Sena had ``appealed'' to Muslims not to carry out sacrifices on the occasion of Id. They had put up posters all over Delhi and threatened to stop sacrifices.

Srivastava said the posters had also been put up in Muslim-dominated areas and it was in this context that Ahmed had called him up in the morning. ``Ahmed threatened me over the phone. But I had not taken him seriously as these things keep happening in politics.''

According to Ahmed, the ``provocative'' posters had built up tension in the area. ``This is a religious matter. How can it be tolerated just like this(sic)?'' he said.

He said he had called up Srivastava and said one must respect other communities' feelings, adding threats would not work in this regard. He alleged that Srivastava started abusing him. He said later in the evening, he went to Srivastava's house and beat him up, but returned when Srivastava's men ``started running.''

According to Srivastava, Ahmed arrived at his house in the evening with his supporters and asked for him. ``I was planning to go out with my family. However, when my driver said that Matin Ahmed had come to see me, I went towards the gate. His only words to me were, `itu nahin manega' and then they started beating me and my men.''

He also alleged that someone poured petrol and threw a burning matchstick. He said that as the flames rose, he removed the gas cylinder lying in the courtyard and tried to control the fire as others rushed inside to lock the other door to avoid the fire from spreading. He also alleged that Ahmed's men fired in the air from a katta. Ahmed,however, denies this.