The death toll in the violence that erupted over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession in the Nuh district of Haryana has gone up to five. Curfew was enforced in the district on Monday night after clashes between two groups.
The police said that the clashes started after VHP’s ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra’ was stopped and stones were pelted at the procession by a group of young men near Khedla Mod in Nuh.
While two home guards were shot dead, 23 persons, including 10 policemen sustained injuries in the violence. At least 120 vehicles were damaged during the violence. Of these, about 50, including eight belonging to the police, were set ablaze.
The police said 11 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered and 27 persons have been detained in connection with the rioting. Police were conducting raids in Khedla village as villagers fled to the nearby mountains to escape arrests. Based on the videos doing the rounds, the accused were being identified and arrested, said superintendent of police, Narendra Bijarniya.
Nuh Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar said no untoward incident was reported through the night. Flag marches are being carried out. Mobile internet services will remain suspended in the district till 2 August. Prohibitory orders were also put in place in the district a day after the clashes.
The violence spilled over to the adjoining Gurugram district after a religious building was torched in Sector 57 at Gurugram. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Gurugram (East) Nitish Agarwal said some miscreants resorted to arsoning and firing in Anjum mosque last night in which one person was killed and another sustained injuries. “
An FIR has been registered and investigations are on, he added.
In all, the death toll in this violence has gone up to five. While four people, including two home guard jawans, were killed in Nuh, one person was killed in Gurugram. The district administration of Gurugram announced closure of all schools, colleges, and educational institutes for Tuesday.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is scheduled to hold a meeting with home minister Anil Vij regarding the situation in Nuh at CM’s residence at 1 p.m. The chief secretary, Director General of Police and top administrative officers will also be present in the meeting.
Meanwhile, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij alleged conspiracy behind the violence. “The situation in Nuh is under control and curfew has been imposed in the district. Both communities have been staying in Nuh peacefully for a long time. There is a conspiracy behind this. The way stones, weapons, bullets were found, it seems there is a mastermind behind this. We will conduct a detailed investigation and take strict actions against the people involved in this,” he said.
The Haryana government has sought 20 companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) from the Centre for a week to maintain the law and order situation in the Nuh district. Sources said while 13 companies of paramilitary forces have been stationed in Nuh, six more companies will be deployed soon.
There is no curfew in Faridabad, Palwal and Gurugram, However, Section 144 has been imposed there to avoid any untoward incident.
Earlier on Monday, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar made an appeal to the public of the district to maintain peace in the wake of the recent incident. He said all issues can be resolved through public dialogue. “I appeal to all the people of Nuh to maintain peace and harmony. We are all one family, and we should not allow anyone to create differences between us. We should resolve our issues through dialogue and understanding,” he said.