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Over 30 suspects held from Rajasthan for Nuh violence, say police
Over 30 suspects have been arrested by Nuh police in Gurugram for their alleged involvement in communal violence that occurred on July 31.
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Gurugram: Nuh police have arrested over 30 suspects in the last five days from neighbouring Rajasthan for their alleged involvement in the communal violence that broke out in Nuh on July 31, police said on Thursday.
As per police, at least 15 of the suspects belong to Ghatmeeka in nearby Bharatpur district, the village of cattle traders Junaid and Nasir, who were allegedly abducted, and their charred bodies found inside a burnt car in Bhiwani on February 16.
Police said the suspects during their interrogation have revealed that they received audio messages which were widely shared on social media groups, which instructed them to take part in the July 31 violence.
Nuh superintendent of police Narendra Bijarniya said that over 15 social media groups have been traced to be operating from districts in Rajasthan. “The arrested suspects were involved in large-scale violence after they received an invitation to attack establishments run by Hindus on social media. These social media accounts had played an important role in spreading hate speech and violence in the district. They were spreading messages through their social media platforms which have thousands of followers from both Rajasthan and Haryana,” he said.
SP Bijarniya said the social media accounts had spread hatred and they mostly targeted boys and men between the age group of 13 to 30, who took part in the violence. “The killing of Junaid and Nasir spread a lot of anger and hatred in the district against Hindu groups involved in cow vigilantism. The evidence so far shows that the attacks were planned. We are reviewing audio-visual evidence and identifying the suspects through their accounts,” he added.
Meanwhile, local social activists said that after the video of Monu Manesar asking people to join the ‘yatra’ on July 31 went viral, people from Rajasthan as well as Uttar Pradesh joined hands to avenge the murder of Nasir and Junaid.
“The cow vigilantes were targeting people from the border villages. But the duo’s murder ignited widespread anger and they were waiting for Manesar to visit Nuh. No one was aware that the situation would turn so violent and people from the neighbouring states would also take part in the communal clashes,” said Rajuddin Meo, a social worker, who is active in the Mewat region.
The locals in Bharatpur in Rajasthan said that Nuh police have framed their men though they were not present in Nuh on the day of the attacks.
“Our people were arrested from the Khedla crossing in Nuh for their alleged involvement in pelting stones and opening fire. The arrested men are actually truck drivers who were returning to their villages when police caught them and registered false cases. They were returning from Jaipur on August 1 and were not involved in the violence,” said Arshad Ali, a village sarpanch.
