Nuh/Haryana: Mohammed Talha stares at the broken glass in his home on Nuh’s Medical College road. Vandalised by a mob, the insides of his house — with broken glass and flower pots, and torn wires strewn all over the floor — are an indication of the communal violence that hit Nuh on 31 July during a religious procession called the Braj Mandal Yatra organised by Hindutva groups Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Matrushakti Durga Vahini.
His family of four, including his 4-year-old granddaughter, hid in one corner of their house to avoid injuries as their home was pelted with stones.
“I heard loud thumps on the main road and rushed to see what had happened from the balcony. They started pelting stones and broke whatever they could,” Talha told ThePrint. He and his family are living with a relative till they can get repairs done on their own house. The renovation remains delayed amid curfew in the area. Mobile internet services, too, continue to remain suspended.
A drive through Nuh — from Tiranga Chowk and Meoli Modd, to Medical College road and Nalhar road — reveals how communal clashes consumed Nuh despite around 500 police personnel being stationed in the district on the day of the yatra to maintain the law and order situation. The violence also soon spread to neighbouring areas.
According to sources, a meeting was held 10 days before the yatra, flagging security concerns to district authorities. However, present Nuh Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Bijarniya told ThePrint that the meeting was a “routine” one.
At the Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Govt Medical College in Nalhar, Goldy Kumar, 32, from Karnal, Haryana, is still recovering from a gunshot injury he suffered in his stomach during the clashes. He’s currently in the ICU. A total of 21 people were admitted to this hospital.
“He had just come to attend the rally with our cousin. We had no idea where he was until two days after the violence. The Nuh Police called up the village pradhan and informed us that he was severely injured,” said Anil Kumar, 39, his elder brother. “He hasn’t been able to talk to any of us,” Kumar said.
Two police personnel were also severely injured in the clashes, and two home guards succumbed to their injuries from stone pelting.
What led to the attack on the yatra
Rumours, provocative social media videos, unrest over cow vigilante Monu Manesar not being arrested, pent up rage over the Zunaid-Nasir murder — these allegedly led to the communal clashes in Nuh with planning starting two to three days before the violence, ThePrint has learnt.
The Braj Mandal Yatra was launched in 2021 by the VHP. During the procession, the yatris typically start off with darshan at the Nalhar Shiv Mandir and move on to the Jhir mandir in Jhirka and then to the Radhe Krishna mandir in Singar, Mewat.
Yatris from Mathura, Nuh, Palwal, Karnal and other areas of Haryana and Rajasthan joined this rally forming a crowd of approximately 2,500.
So, what exactly led to the communal clashes during the rally this year?
“I will be in the yatra in person and my whole team will also be present,” Monu had purportedly said in a video message before the rally.
Meanwhile, Bajrang Dal member from Faridabad Raj Kumar alias Bittu Bajrangi, on a Facebook video on 31 July, had purportedly said, “phool mala tayyar rakho (keep flowers and garlands ready)” and “tumhara jija aa raha hai (your brother-in-law is coming)”. This was taken as an indication of Monu’s presence.
It was this string of events on social media that allegedly led to the vast mobilisation of rioters. Even though some 500 police personnel were stationed to maintain the law and order, according to high level sources in the Nuh police, the situation got out of control.
Sources said clashes erupted at Nalhar Road in Nuh and soon spread to a five-to-six-kilometre radius to Tiranga chowk, Meoli Modd and Medical college the same day. Incidents of rioting and arson in Badkali chowk, Jhirka, Gurugram, Palwal and others followed.
“A group of some 200 Muslim boys charged the yatris at Nalhar road near the mandir. It began with a verbal spat. There was a rumour that Monu Manesar had joined the rally. The Muslim community was already upset over the murders of the two Muslim Men in Bharatpur — Zunaid and Nasir — where Monu is a main accused and continues to evade arrest. The verbal spat soon led to physical assault,” a senior police officer said.
However, Monu didn’t attend the rally on the VHP’s suggestion. Bajrangi, who was arrested by the Faridabad Police, was later released on bail.
Rumours, rioting & arson
The then Nuh SP Varun Singla was on leave on the day of the yatra. The police were also allegedly alerted about possible violence during the procession. BJP parliamentarian Dharambir Singh has reportedly called it an “intelligence failure”.
The yatri reportedly came with swords and sticks for the religious procession.
“The planning started via WhatsApp groups and discussions two to three days before the rioting. There was already displeasure among the public, and rumour mongering made it worse. We didn’t anticipate such magnitude,” a senior police officer told ThePrint.
The mob had allegedly been collecting stones, storing them on terraces of buildings and had kept country-made guns ready, sources said.
Asked if there was firing from inside the Nalhar Temple as well by Bajrang Dal, SP Bijarniya said that they were “police personnel in civil dresses” attempting to disperse the crowd.
A total of 56 FIRs have been lodged in connection with the Nuh violence and 170 people, majority of them Muslims, have been arrested till now.
Nuh police has taken cognizance of a viral video featuring another person named ‘Ashok Baba’. The video shows him shooting from inside the Nalhar Mandir premises. However, Bijarniya has said that they haven’t been able to “trace him” so far.
Some news reports have described Ashok Baba as a VHP worker and a lawyer. In some interviews, he claimed to have fired “in the air” to “save lives of Hindus and in self defence” with his licensed gun.
The verbal spat and the following physical assault at Nalhar Road, had forced yatris to flee and take shelter at Shiv Mandir. “The mob had surrounded the area and there was heavy stone pelting and firing,” said a senior police officer. “However, we cannot say that they were held hostage. The mob had hidden in the mountains surrounding the area and continued firing and pelting stones. Guns were also arranged by the Hindu community.”
Trilok Mathur and his wife Ritu | Praveen Jain | ThePrint
Nuh resident Trilok Mathur, who had visited the temple on the day, said, “the Muslim mob started it. They beat up everyone. Hindus only retaliated.” The violence in the area continued till after 4 pm.
According to sources, rumours also spread that the pilgrims from Mathura who were on their way were stopped and those joining in Jhirka were also harassed.
“Soon after, rioting and arson spread. Bikes and shops were torched,” a source said.
‘VHP & Bajrang Dal began pelting stones before reaching Nalhar road’
However, according to some of Nuh’s Muslim residents, the violence started at the Medical college road near Mohammed Talha’s house and continued towards the Shiv Mandir.
Sufiyan Ahmed, who worked in a pharmacy (now demolished) opposite the government medical college, said, “VHP and Bajrang Dal were speeding with their cars. They had already started pelting stones before reaching Nalhar road near the mandir”.
“When the yatris were initially crossing, water was also offered to them by the Muslims but they didn’t stop provoking,” Ahmed added.
At the Nalhar village, located at the foothills of the Aravallis, residents say that they don’t know who fired at whom. Speaking to ThePrint, a Hindu resident, who wished to not be named, said, “They (mob) hid in the farm and the mountains. We hid in our homes. Bullets reached our houses.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also read: ‘Hindus are suffering more’ — VHP, Bajrang Dal hold protests across Delhi-NCR over Nuh violence