Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Aug 1: A mob attacked a mosque in Gurugram and killed its naib imam taking the toll in the violence that erupted over an attempt to stop a Bajrang Dal – Vishwa Hindu Parishad procession in Nuh district in Haryana to five with about 70 others injured, police said.
Curfew was clamped in Nuh on Tuesday where four people, including two home guards, were killed and many others injured on Monday, as Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij claimed that the violence was “engineered.”
The ripples from Monday’s 18-hour communal clash in Nuh has reached Badshahpur, 50 km away. Shops and eateries were vandalised and torched by a mob on Tuesday evening amid religious chants. Eyewitnesses said a mob of around 200 had entered the area around 3 pm, armed with sticks and stones. They vandalized several shops, including several meat shops, and set fire to an eatery. No one was injured.
The mob attacked the mosque in Gurugram, killed one person, and injured several others just past midnight, police have said. The mosque, Anjuman Jama Masjid in Sector 57, was also set on fire. Fire control trucks were rushed to the spot, and brought the fire under control. Union Minister and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh confirmed that there was an attack on a mosque in Gurugram in which two people including the imam were shot.
Over 80 people have been arrested in connection with Monday’s violence and multiple police cases registered. According to reports, the clashes erupted due to rumours surrounding the attendance of Bajrang Dal leader Monu Manesar, wanted over his alleged role in the killing of two Muslim men earlier this year.
Violence broke out during a religious procession on Monday in Nuh — just 50 km from Delhi — following what many say was an objectionable video that went viral. As a mob attacked the procession with stones, the 2,500-plus participants rushed into a temple to take shelter.
The violence escalated as the evening progressed — a mosque was torched post-midnight, more than a hundred vehicles were torched and vandalised as mobs went on rampage in Nuh and neighbouring Gurugram. The dead include two security personnel and two civilians, one of them a cleric of the mosque. The people who had taken shelter in the temple were rescued close to midnight.
The police identified the attackers, conducted raids at various places, and several of the accused were arrested, they said. Security around religious places has been strengthened. Both the police and administration are holding meetings with prominent members of the community to ensure peace, police said. Internet services have been suspended in Sohna, Pataudi, and Manesar areas.
The violence started after rumours that Monu Manesar, a Bajrang Dal activist wanted over the murder of two men from Bharatpur, was attending the rally. Monu Manesar — on the run since Junaid and Nasir were beaten and burnt alive in their car in February — had asked people in a video to join the religious procession and claimed that he would attend it also. Sources said his associates had also given provocative speeches ahead of the rally.
Chaudhary Aftab, the MLA from Nuh, said, “People were already angry with the statements of Monu Manesar, Bittu Bajrangi and rumours spread that Monu had come to Manesar… so the violence started.” “I told the administration a day ago that the atmosphere is deteriorating, do not give permission (for the procession). But they did not agree. All this happened due to Monu Manesar’s statement,” he added.
On Tuesday all educational institutions including schools, colleges, and coaching centres, remained closed in Gurugram. Board exams for Classes 10 and 12 were also postponed. Educational institutions in Gurgaon’s Sohna sub-division will remain closed on Wednesday also, the authorities said.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has promised “strict action”. “Today’s incident is unfortunate. I appeal to all the people to maintain peace in the state. The guilty will not be spared at any cost, and strictest action will be taken against them,” he posted in Twitter.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has termed the communal violence “deeply troubling” and appealed to the state’s people to maintain peace. “The communal violence in Haryana’s Nuh (Mewat) is deeply troubling. After Manipur in the Northeast, now such an incident in
Police said the Home Guards were shot dead as a mob tried to stop the religious procession in Nuh’s Khedla Mod, throwing stones and setting cars on fire. A 26-year-old man was killed late last night after a mob attacked a mosque in Gurugram as the violence spread to the neighbouring district, while the identity of the fourth man who died in the violence is yet to be ascertained.
The Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), was stopped by a group of young men on the Gurugram-Alwar National Highway sparking off the violence.
Meanwhile, the Haryana Government has sought 20 companies of the Rapid Action Force from the Centre for a week to maintain the law and order situation in Nuh district.
The VHP on Tuesday likened the incident of violence in Haryana to a “terror attack” and demanded a probe into it by the National Investigation Agency. Addressing a press conference, VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain claimed that the attacks were carried out against Hindu devotees “in a pre-planned manner” during a religious procession on Monday and were “incited” by some Congress leaders of Haryana.
He also alleged intelligence failure of the state police and claimed that rioters used sophisticated weapons and other regular firearms to attack the Hindu devotees during the procession. VHP activists will hold protests and demonstrations across the country on Wednesday against the “planned attacks” on Hindus in Haryana, Jain said.
Khattar also said the attack on the VHP procession was part of a big conspiracy and asserted that strict action will be taken against the culprits. Khattar on Tuesday afternoon held a meeting here with Vij and senior officials, including the chief secretary, to take stock of the situation. Senior police officers, including the DGP, joined the meeting virtually.
According to an official statement, Khattar said every year, the ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra’ used to be taken out. This year too, this Yatra was being taken out. Some people hatched a conspiracy and attacked the procession, Khattar said, adding police personnel were also attacked. “Definitely, it looks like part of a big conspiracy,” the CM said.