Haryana khaps, religious leaders and Hindu bodies at the Palwal Mahapanchayat on Sunday decided to resume the Braj Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Nuh on August 28.

The mahapanchayat was called by the Sarv Hindu Samaj at Pondri village in Palwal to discuss the resumption of Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Jalabhishek Yatra.

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However, despite the permission for only 500 people for the mahapanchayat, the gathering far exceeded that number. In view of the mahapanchayat, the police had barred outsiders from entering the village besides beefing up security.

The Yatra was halted due to communal clashes in Nuh on July 31, which left six people dead and several others injured.

At the mahapanchayat, the participants also demanded a fair investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the communal violence, and the merger of Muslim-dominated Nuh district with other districts of Haryana.

They also demanded Rs 1 crore as compensation and government jobs for the deceased’s family members and Rs 50 lakh for those who were injured in the Nuh riots. Another demand was that Rohingyas, and people from any other country living in Nuh should be removed.

They also sought arms licence for Hindus living in Nuh for self-defense, declaration of Nuh as a cow slaughter-free district, transfer of FIRs registered in Nuh to Gurugram, permanent deployment of security forces – RAF or police – in Nuh, and an inquiry against former Nuh SP Varun Singla, who was on leave despite intelligence inputs of chances violence.

They also demanded recovery of shops and homes of Hindus from those involved in the riots.

“We have decided that the Yatra will resume on August 28 as per the plan. People from across the state will take out the procession and gather at the Nalhar temple for a uniform Yatra up to the Shringar temple. We urge people to join the Yarta, which was earlier disrupted by mobsters,” Ajeet Singh, President of Gurugram VHP, told IANS.

The panchayat was held amid the deployment of heavy security at Pondri village in Palwal. Several companies of paramilitary forces, along with the police, patrolled the area from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Strict action is required against those involved in this conspiracy. Several decisions have been taken in today’s mahapanchayat, including the resumption of the Yatra, NIA probe, compensation for victims, arms licence for Hindus living in Nuh, among others. Such violence will not be tolerated anymore,” Bajrang Dal leader Kulbhushan Bhardwaj told IANS.

“As per the demand of our Hindu brothers, we have decided to resume the Jalabhishek Yatra on August 28 in Nuh. It was our religious procession and it will be completed as per the scheduled plan. We demand a fair probe into the entire incident and those found guilty should be punished,” Arun Zaildar, a senior VHP leader, told IANS.

The mahapanchayat was attended by several khaps of Haryana, leaders of VHP and Bajrang Dal, current and former MLAs from Sohna, Nuh BJP President Narender Patel, Arun Zaildar, and senior VHP leader Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, among others.

The mahapanchayat was originally scheduled to be held in Nuh, but due to security reasons, permission was denied by the administration.

However, the Palwal administration later granted conditional permission for a gathering of around 500 people for the mahapanchayat. The administration also said that strict action will be taken if anyone makes any kind of hate speech.