Chandigarh: Having arrested 139 people so far in connection with the 31 July communal clashes that claimed six lives in Haryana’s Nuh district, the police Thursday embarked on search operations in villages the accused come from.
The clashes, which also left 70 injured and led to crores worth of damage to properties, erupted during a religious procession in the district Monday evening. The procession, a ‘Braj Mandal Yatra’, was organised by Hindutva groups Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Matra Shakti Durga Vahini.
Nuh Superintendent of Police (SP) Varun Singla confirmed that search operations for more suspects were conducted Thursday in four villages of the district — Sangel, Meoli, Jalalpur Nuh, and Shikarpur — and some people had been taken in custody.
“Eight teams have been constituted under senior police officers. The teams will conduct raids and identify those behind the July 31 attack on Braj Mandal Yatra,” Singla told media persons Thursday.
He further said that three Special Investigation Teams (SITs) headed by deputy superintendent of police-level officers have been constituted in the district to investigate the 45 FIRs registered so far in connection with the violence.
According to the SP, 34 companies of police and paramilitary forces have been deployed in Nuh and flag marches are being organised to instil a sense of security among people. Internet services will remain shut in the district till 5 August, when a decision on whether to restore them will be taken after reviewing the situation.
ThePrint visited Meoli, one of the villages where search operations were conducted, at around noon. Aamin, a tea stall owner, said a police contingent arrived at around 8.30 am, cordoned off the village and conducted a house-to-house search. “They came in a convoy of 11 police vehicles and five buses. They immediately swung into action, and after completing their operations, left around 10 am,” he added.
The village has nearly 2,000 houses, said Aamin. Asked whether the police picked up anyone from Meoli, he said they hadn’t.
Shahjahan, another villager, told ThePrint that more than 12 young men from Meoli are already in police custody.
“Four to five youths were arrested on the day of the incident from Nuh itself. They work in Nuh. Most of them are motorcycle mechanics. Others were taken away by the police in the wee hours of August 1 while they were sleeping in their houses,” he added.
Asked what triggered the 31 July violence, Aamin said Nuh has always been known for its communal harmony and tolerance. “We had never thought such an incident would ever happen in our area. Even now, people from both communities live in harmony in our village. These are some young boys, mostly in their early 20s, who have been arrested by the police.”
Internet services were restored between 1 pm and 4 pm in the district to allow candidates to appear for the Common Eligibility Test (CET) for Group C posts.
Nuh Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar and SP Singla, meanwhile, held a meeting with ulemas (Muslim clerics) and appealed to them to ask people to observe their jumma namaz (Friday prayers) at their homes. The ulemas assured that it would be done.
In a press release issued on behalf of the two officers, the DC said that they appealed to the ulemas to cooperate with the authorities the same way they did during the pandemic.
SP Singla said he had assured the ulemas that no innocent person will be framed in the 31 July violence.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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