From Nuh to Gurugram, how volatile is the situation in Haryana?

Tensions gripped Haryana’s Nuh district on Monday after clashes broke out during a religious procession. The ripples from 31 July’s communal flare-ups, which claimed the lives of at least six people, reached several other regions including Gurugram, which is less than 20 kilometres from the National Capital Delhi, and neighbouring Rajasthan. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar described the incident as unfortunate and alleged a big “conspiracy behind the incident.” He said, “A yatra was being organised during which some people conspired an attack on yatris and police. Violent incidents were reported at several places. There seems to be a big conspiracy behind this. Heavy police have been deployed in Nuh district and nearby areas.” “Curfew has also been imposed in Nuh and Section 144 has been imposed in some places. Around 44 FIRs have been registered and 70 people have been taken into custody. Strict actions will be taken against them. So far five people have lost their lives including two police officials. We will provide all possible assistance to them. I appeal to the common people to maintain peace in the district,” he added. Also read: Haryana: How Nuh violence spread to Gurugram, where mosque was attacked The aftermath of Nuh violence in Gurugram Gurugram’s sector 70 has been affected by Monday’s 18-hour communal clash in Nuh as a business and some shanties near a housing development were set on fire late on Tuesday night, according to NDTV. According to police, a mosque in a Gurugram neighbourhood was also set on fire yesterday and the naib imam was fatally stabbed by a mob around midnight on Monday. The incident also injured a person. Shops in Gurgaon’s Badshahpur neighbourhood were set on fire in the afternoon. In a similar manner, a mob set fire to a junk dealer’s store in Palwal. By the time the police arrived, the mobs had fled the scene. Police commissioner Kala Ramachandran said, “Security around places of worship has been tightened. Police and administration are holding meetings with prominent members of both communities to ensure peace.” Union Minister and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh told NDTV, “Twenty companies of paramilitary have been sent. Nuh’s incident has had an impact on Gurugram as well. Yesterday, there was an attack on a mosque in Gurugram in which two people including the imam were shot. Five people have been detained in this case.” In view of the violence, mobile internet services have also been suspended in the districts of Gurugram, Faridabad, and Palwal. The Gurgaon district magistrate Nishant Kumar Yadav has also issued an order forbidding all fuel outlets from selling loose petrol or diesel to anyone (apart from in an emergency). “There have been reports of communal tensions in Nuh district and bordering areas of Gurugram district, which poses a potential threat to law and order in the region,” the order said, adding, “And whereas, I am of the opinion that immediate preventive measures are required to be taken to maintain public order, peace, and harmony in the district… in the interest of public safety and security, hereby order that all fuel stations operating in Gurugram district are strictly prohibited from selling loose petrol/diesel to any person (except for emergency purposes) with immediate effect.” Additionally, all educational facilities, including schools, colleges, and coaching facilities, were shut down yesterday. The Class 10 and 12 board exams were also postponed. ACP Crime Varun Kumar Dahiya told ANI on Wednesday, “In the last two days, 15 FIRs have been registered. After the incident happened on 31 July, there has been a significant reduction in such incidents. We are closely monitoring the hotspots and sensitive areas… Eight accused have been arrested so far and preventive action was taken against 30 people. In sector 57 at Anjuman mosque in Gurugram, a mob gathered and incited this incident in which two persons got injured and one died on the spot, now the other person is stable.”

Also read: Nuh violence: Who is gau rakshak Monu Manesar at the centre of communal clashes? Mosque vandalised in Sohna According to Livemint, the mobs went on the rampage for more than an hour yesterday at Sohna Chowk, breaking through a police queue to throw stones at shops and houses and setting vehicles on fire that got in their path. All educational facilities in the subdivision are currently closed due to the violence.

According to a district administration statement, “In order to avoid any untoward incident and ensure the safety of students, it is deemed necessary to close all Government and private educational institutions in the Sohna sub-division of district Gurugram on 2 August 2023, in view of the prevailing circumstances.” Stepped up security in UP regions bordering Mewat Following the incident in Nuh in nearby Haryana, security has been increased in Mathura’s border areas, and traffic has been diverted on some routes, Indian Express quoted a top official as saying on Tuesday. “Since the Mewat area of Haryana is adjacent to Kosi, Barsana and Govardhan police stations of Mathura, a special vigil is being maintained in the area falling under these three police stations,” Inspector General of Police Deepak Kumar told the outlet. He added that additional police officers have been stationed in districts that border Haryana and that surveillance is also being done with drones. Since part of the route travels through Haryana, police officers met with pilgrims on the Chaurasi Kos Parikrama and gave them assurances that they will have adequate security. Also read: Clashes erupt between two communities in Haryana’s Nuh Rajasthan is also affected According to News18, following a mob’s Tuesday vandalism of some stores in Bhiwari (a town near the Rajasthan-Haryana border), Section 144 was implemented in ten blocks of adjoining Rajasthan’s Alwar district until 10 August. A report in Hindustan claims that a mob vandalised some stores on the Alwar Bypass at about 3.00 pm. After the sudden attack, people who were sitting in the shops fled the area. The mob allegedly damaged the goods and even broke the shop’s tin shed, after which several miscreants reportedly also fled into the Genesis Shopping Mall. The Rajasthan police sprang into action, encircled the mall from all sides, and took six suspected youths into custody. The administration has deployed security officers in Bhiwari in light of the circumstances and to prevent the spread of violence from Haryana to Rajasthan. According to the report, vehicles leaving Haryana are inspected, and anyone who seems suspect is only allowed to leave after being questioned. Nuh violence Communal clashes broke out in Nuh during the Vishwa Hindu Parishad procession on 31 July. Nearly two o’clock in the afternoon, more than 200 people started to stroll from Edward Chowk in Nuh, reported English Jagran. During the holy procession, a big group of miscreants began pelting stones and torching cars. The Hindu side initially fled but subsequently returned and retaliated.

According to the police, a group of men stopped the religious procession Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra near Khedla Mod. Gargi Kakkar, the district president of the BJP, had flagged off the procession from Gurugram’s Civil Lines. At least six people have lost their lives in the violence and over 70, including several policemen, were injured. Two more people succumbed to their injuries on Tuesday.  While Gurgaon Police detained five individuals in the mosque matter, Nuh Police have detained 116 individuals and filed 26 FIRs thus far. Haryana home minister Anil Vij said on Tuesday that the situation in Nuh was under control and that it was likely unnamed miscreants who planned and directed the violence. He said, “Some people were held against their will inside a temple. Those trapped inside the temple shared their live location with me through Google navigation. I passed on certain instructions to the police. An officer, Mamata Singh, led a police team, braving the odds and reached the scene on time. The people held inside the temple were rescued.”

“It did not seem to be a random act of violence. All communities have been residing peacefully in Nuh. Someone appeared to have incited violence. Someone masterminded and engineered it. Stones, along with weapons and bullets, were stockpiled at various places,” the minister added. Furthermore, mobile internet services have been temporarily suspended till 2 August in Nuh. The district administration said in an official statement, “In order to stop the spread of misinformation and rumours through various social media platforms, such as WhatsApp, Facebook Twitter, etc. on mobile phones and SMS, for facilitation and mobilization of mobs of agitators and demonstrators who can cause serious loss of life and damage to public and private properties by indulging in arson or vandalism and other types of violent activities.” Yesterday, the district administration also urged the public to avoid sharing any material on social media that would offend someone’s religious feelings or endanger religious harmony. The cause of violence According to some reports, an offensive video uploaded on social media by a Bajrang Dal activist in Ballabhgarh served as the catalyst for the altercation. While others claimed that Monu Manesar, a Bajrang Dal activist previously detained for the murder of two Bharatpur-based individuals, was present at the event. According to NDTV, Monu Manesar, who has been on the run since Junaid and Nasir were tortured and burned alive in their car in February, had urged people to join the holy procession in a video and said he would be there as well. According to sources, his associates delivered aggressive speeches prior to the demonstration. Threats were also made against him on Twitter, daring him to visit Nuh. With inputs from agencies