It has been almost three days since violence began in the Nuh district of Haryana which has slowly and sporadically spread across regions in the Delhi-NCR area affecting areas in and around Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The clashes first began on the 31st of July when the Brij Mandal yatra organised by Hindu groups, VHP and Bajrang Dal from Nuh to Ferozepur Jhirka was stopped and attacked by a group of men allegedly Muslim. Members of the VHP have also alleged that the locals pelted stones on the yatris and also set their vehicles on fire.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij had also alleged that after the initial clashes, 3000-4000 people from the yatra who were held hostage in the Narhar temple.
“The situation is tense in Nuh. There are about 3000-4000 persons who are held hostage at Narhar temple in Nuh. All these were part of the VHP’s procession. We are trying our best to first rescue these people. I just had a word with our ADGP (Law and Order) Mamta Singh. She is on the spot with additional forces. She has told me that police are making efforts to rescue these people from the temple, but there is a lot of resistance that is being faced by the police at this stage,” he said.
“Our primary objective is to restore peace in the area. As far as investigation is concerned, that will follow that who was responsible for this situation and who were the actual culprits. I have also instructed Haryana’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) TVSN Prasad to carry out an operation using a chopper to send additional forces so that all those who are held hostage in the temple should be rescued on priority,” he stated further.
“A few media persons are also hiding in the area because they were also fearing attacks. We are attempting to rescue them as well. I am constantly monitoring the situation and am in touch with the officials there on the ground. We shall be sending more forces, if required and shall try to restore the peace as early as possible,” said Vij.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also appealed to people of all communities to keep peace in the state and assured that all guilty people will be punished. But, the violence did not stop there and even spread to other places as multiple shops and vehicles were torched from the Sohna chowk towards Nuh. Haryana Home Minister said that 20 companies of Central Armed Police Forces, i.e. approximately 2,000 personnel were also sent to Nuh in Haryana by the Union Home Ministry to maintain law and order.
However, the situation still could not be calmed down as a mob of 70-80 people allegedly Hindu attacked and set a mosque on fire which resulted in the death of a Naib Imam in the early hours of Tuesday. Five people were arrested in relation to the burning of the mosque and soon curfew was imposed across the sensitive areas due to which not many instances of violence was reported. However, one instance of mischief was reported as a group of people set a few shops on fire in Gurgaon’s Badshahpur in the afternoon on Tuesday, luckily no one was injured. There were reports of multiple meat shops being attacked and set on fire in parts of Gurgaon.
Reacting to the communal violence Anil Vij said that the violence was a conspiracy and was pre-planned and engineered by someone who wanted to disturb the peace as it is not possible to get stones, brandish weapons and fire bullets in the way it happened without any previous planning. He added that he will not go to any conclusions and that his primary objective will be to bring the matter under control.
Peace committee meetings were held in Nuh and Sohna on Tuesday following communal violence in the two towns, with people assuring the administration that they will cooperate fully in maintaining peace, officials said. In Nuh, District Deputy Commissioner Prashant Pawar and SP Narendra Singh Bijarnia presided over the meeting. The SP appealed to the committee members to help identify the accused. In Sohna, Gurugram DC Nishant Kumar Yadav appealed to those attending the peace committee meeting to restore social harmony in the town. The DC appealed to people to not pay heed to rumours and added that strict action would be taken against those trying to disturb the harmony. Gurgaon Police also announced 57 lakhs for the families of the deceased home guards who lost their lives during the communal violence.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also sought an inquiry into the alleged use of children in stone pelting and other illegal activities during the recent communal flare-up in the Nuh district of Haryana.
Currently 44 FIRs were filed, 116 people were arrested and the death count has risen to 6 after a Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Sharma died during treatment in Safdarjung hospital in Delhi after sustaining injuries during the violence in Nuh. This has caused several Hindu outfits such as Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal to protest across various locations especially in the Delhi-NCR area. The groups are protesting the attack on them during the Yatra and are demanding an in-depth investigation by the NIA into the attack. This has caused the states of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to go into high alert.
The Mewat region in Haryana where the clashes originated is a Muslim majority area where more than 70% of the population belongs to Islam. There have been previous incidences of communal tensions in the area due to it being a sensitive area. There also have been incidences in the Mewat region where the Hindu families were allegedly forced to leave their homes and the area by the local Muslim groups.
