New Delhi: Six people have died in communal clashes that began in Nuh on Monday and spilled over to affluent Gurugram a day later.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has vowed that the guilty will not be spared while he reiterated Wednesday that his government was committed to the safety of citizens.
Khattar said the “unfortunate incident” in Nuh had resulted in widespread loss, and that six people had died so far, including two home guards. “The injured are admitted in several hospitals… We are searching for the perpetrators and have arrested 116 people so far… We will interrogate them and catch the rest. Nobody will be spared as it is our duty to protect the people,” Khattar said Wednesday.
Saying the situation was under control, the chief minister appealed to the people to maintain peace and not listen to rumours.
#WATCH | "Six people including two Home Guards and four civilians have died in the incident. 116 people have been arrested till now. Their remand is being taken. Those found guilty will not be spared. We are committed to the safety of the public. The overall situation in the… pic.twitter.com/z5y16CF03o
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2023
Gurugram’s Assistant Commissioner of Police Varun Dahiya said that all schools, colleges and offices were open in the financial hub. “There are no restrictions on traffic and the Internet is also operational. I appeal to all not to listen to rumours on social media. If anyone wants to report an incident, they can call the helpline number 112,” he added.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said the government was scouring social media to find out if incendiary posts had ignited the clashes. He clarified that the 116 arrested were in Nuh alone. Some have been arrested in Rewadi and Gurugram, the minister said.
Vij added that it was clear that an incident of such scale was not coincidental or a reaction to an accident. “There was planning, people were gathered, stones and weapons were accumulated beforehand. We will probe this and expose the culprits,” Vij said.
In neighbouring Delhi, right wing group Bajrang Dal held a demonstration Wednesday morning, near the Nirman Vihar metro station, after its parent body Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) called for a protest against the violent clashes in Nuh.
Communal clashes broke out in Muslim-majority district Nuh Monday at a religious procession, organised by the VHP and the Matra Shakti Durga Vahini.
The clashes left two home guards dead. On the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday, a mosque in Gurugram’s Sector 57 was attacked, resulting in the death of its 22-year-old imam, Maulana Saad.
Khurshid Alam, a caretaker of the mosque, was also injured and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
Three more civilians have died since.
Later in the day, multiple establishments belonging to Muslims in Gurugram’s Badshahpur — meat shops, hotels, and junk dealers’ shops — were set ablaze. Witnesses told ThePrint these were strategically targeted to rob Muslims of their livelihoods, and identified through their names on the hoardings. Nearby shops belonging to people from the Hindu community were left alone, they said.
Also read: Shops burnt, imam killed, mosque torched — how Nuh clashes spawned targeted violence in Gurugram
Clashes erupted in Nuh Monday after a mob stopped the procession “Braj Mandal Yatra” – scheduled to go from the Shiv temple to Ferozepur Jhirka — at Khoda Mor.
As the evening progressed, stones were hurled in several places, including in Gurugram’s Sohna, forcing the district administration to impose prohibitory orders.
Nearly 3,000 people, who were part of the yatra, were stranded at the Nalhar Shiv Mandir, from where the procession began, and were eventually rescued.
Residents of Nuh accused police and local authorities of negligence and apathy, citing incendiary videos which were allegedly circulated by Monu Yadav alias Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante who is accused of abducting and murdering two Muslim men in Bhiwani earlier this year.
Home Minister Anil Vij said Wednesday that he had seen the video but it did not look as if Monu Manesar was asking people to riot. “He was asking people to take part in the procession,” Vij added.
#WATCH | On Nuh clashes, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij says "The situation in Nuh is under control…Around 44 FIRs have been registered. 116 people have been arrested till now. There is a conspiracy behind this. The way stones, weapons, and bullets were found, it seems there is… pic.twitter.com/s3Fi8TY66O
— ANI (@ANI) August 2, 2023
More than 40 vehicles were torched in the ensuing arson and stone-hurling, the police said. A police station was also reportedly attacked.
Also read: VHP, Bajrang Dal announce nationwide protests against Haryana violence — ‘won’t be tolerated’