‘Burn them alive’: What FIR reveals about harrowing violence in Nuh

Clashes between two communities during a Vishwa Hindu Parishad procession in Haryana have claimed six lives. Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday sought four more companies of central forces in addition to the 20 companies already deployed in the state. Of these, 14 are in Nuh, three in Palwal, two in Gurugram and one in Faridabad, Khattar said. The vowed that those found responsible for the clashes will not be spared. Over 100 people have been arrested and 90 detained since Monday’s clashes in Nuh. But what do the First Information Reports reveal? Let’s take a closer look: According to News18, more than 44 FIRs have been filed. One of the FIRs states that a mob of around 600 to 700 people attacked a police station in Nuh at 3.30 pm, as per India Today. That FIR was filed by PSI Suraj of the cyber crime police station, as per Indian Express. The mob surrounded the police station and pelted it with stones despite pleas from the officials to keep calm.

The mob also chanted ‘burn them alive’.

The FIR alleges that the mob also fired on the station – thus injuring several officials including one in the abdomen, as per News18. Members of the mob even drove a bus into the police station gate. “My duty was at Adbar Chowk along with other police officers. A crowd of about 600-700 violent antisocial persons, who were coming from Tauru village, were chanting… slogans. They came towards the police force deployed at the chowk and started pelting stones. The 600-700 persons unruly and violent crowd continuously threw stones at the police,” one witness was quoted as saying in the FIR by News18. As per Indian Express, the police then used tear gas and fired into the air to save their lives. “On my order, to disperse the raging mob, constable Pradeep Kumar fired teargas shells… When the rioters continued pelting stones… fellow police officers and I… in self defence and for protection… took arms from the police station armoury and fired in retaliation in the air,” the FIR read. “I fired 20 rounds from my service pistol… PSI Sudhir fired 20 rounds from his… ASI Suresh fired 10 rounds from a colleague’s service revolver, head constable Surender fired 25 rounds from SLR, constable Raghuvir fired 25 rounds from SLR and constable Shubham fired 15 rounds,” the FIR added. The FIR added that the rioters then poured petrol on the vehicles of policemen – inside and outside the station premises – before setting them ablaze. One government vehicle was also vandalised, the FIR added. “The rioters then barged into the police station room and looted 2 coolers, one inverter, a battery, a laptop, and ASI Suresh’s wallet… After that, a lot of police force arrived and the rioters abandoned the bus and ran away before threatening us,” the FIR added. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered enhanced deployment of security personnel in sensitive areas and a crackdown on hate speech but refused to stop the proposed rallies by VHP and Bajrang Dal in the NCR. Noting that hate speeches vitiate the atmosphere, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SV Bhatti also ordered installation of CCTV cameras in vulnerable places. The CCTV footage and the video recording will be preserved, the apex court said. With inputs from agencies