Five killed as Nuh riots spill over to Gurugram

Opposition leaders said the violence was evidence of the administrative failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janta Party state government.

The communal violence that erupted in Haryana’s Nuh district on Monday spread to parts of Gurugram on Tuesday as mobs set fire to and vandalised dozens of establishments in at least three of the city’s neighbourhoods in the afternoon, hours after a mosque in Sector 57 was vandalised and a cleric killed, taking the toll in the clashes that began Monday to five.

Flames and smoke rise from shops and other temporary structures set ablaze by miscreants in a fresh case of communal violence after Monday's attack on a VHP procession in adjoining Nuh district, in Gurugram (PTI)

Security forces fanned across Nuh, Palwal, Gurugram and Faridabad districts to snuff out further outbreaks and rein in tensions, with 45 first information reports (FIRs) registered, 70 suspects detained, and 100 more identified. Mobile internet services remained suspended in Nuh, Manesar and Pataudi, while prohibitory orders were under effect in Faridabad, Palwal and Gurugram districts.

Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who chaired a high-level meeting to assess the situation, said the attacks were “pre-planned” and that a “conspiracy” was at the heart of the violence that has rocked the region.

Interviews with police officers and those involved in the violence — all spoke on condition of anonymity — paint a picture of a meticulously planned attack, raising questions as to why the police did not have a clue about what was going to go down despite hundreds of guns and people being mobilised.

Questions are also being raised on why the administration and the police did nothing even after Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante on the run from the law after his alleged involvement in the killing of two Muslim cattle traders in February, posted videos claiming he would be at an annual religious procession in Nuh.

Finally, questions are also being asked on the speed of response, with the violence spreading in under 24 hours — from Nuh to Gurugram, home to the headquarters of large Indian and multinational firms.

Khattar’s deputy, Dushyant Chautala, meanwhile said the organisers of Monday’s Shobha Yatra — which was attacked by Muslim groups — did not properly inform the administration about the expected turnout.

Senior administration officials, however, insisted that the region’s law and order was in check.

Opposition leaders said the violence was evidence of the administrative failure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Jannayak Janta Party state government and accused the BJP of fanning communal tensions.

The Monday procession was given permission despite Nuh’s fragile communal situation, the state’s intelligence machinery failed to pick up the mobilisation of people from neighbouring areas in response to the rally, while the police seemed to be taken by surprise at the large-scale use of weapons starting Monday night.

Government officials said schools in Gurugram district will reopen for in-person lessons on Wednesday. Schools in the Sohna subdivision, which was engulfed by violence on Monday, will stay shut, said the order issued by the district’s deputy commissioner.

Clashes first ensnared the region on Monday when Hindu and Muslim groups clashed during a Shobha Yatra taken out by the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in Nuh district, roughly 50km from Gurugram with two home guards killed and over 200 people injured in the violence that followed.

The trigger for the violence, according to a police officer, were videos suggesting that Bajrang Dal member and cow vigilante Monu Manesar, wanted for murdering two Muslim men in Haryana’s Bhiwani this February, would also be a part of the procession. However, the wanted cow vigilante, who has been at large for months, did not turn up at the procession.

Tensions soon spiralled and scattered to other districts, with violence reported from Sohna, Palwal and Gurugram.

Minutes after midnight, a mob of around 45 people vandalised a mosque in Gurugram’s Sector 57, killing the mosque’s deputy, or naib, imam and injuring three others. The incident, according to police officers, unfolded around 12.10am on Tuesday, with a mob carrying sticks attacking the Anjuman Jama Masjid in New Gurugram.

Some entered the mosque and attacked those inside. Soon after, the mob set the mosque on fire.

When contacted on Tuesday, sadar imam Mufti Shahnawaz Mohammad said five people were on the premises of the partially built mosque when it was attacked.

He also alleged that at least five to six people threatened them two months ago to stop organising Friday prayers, following which a police complaint was filed.

“They were all from Tigra village, located across the main road in front of the mosque,” he alleged.

Hakim Khan, a local, who was at the spot when the mosque was set afire also alleged that the attackers had come from Tigra village.

Gurugram police chief Kala Ramachandran said “many of the attackers” were held and security around places of worship in the region was tightened. She also clarified that the imam of the mosque was not present at the mosque at the time of the attack.

The violence continued to course through urban Gurugram on Tuesday afternoon. According to eyewitnesses, several mobs, with people on motorcycles and SUVs, scoured the streets and destroyed 25 shops and restaurants in at least three neighbourhoods – Badshahpur, Pataudi Chowk and Sector 67. The shops vandalised included 14 in Badshahpur that were run by Muslim men.

Two more civilians were killed in the violence at Nuh on Monday. One of them was identified as Shakti Singh Saini, a local resident who was not involved in the clashes, but was standing by the side of the road, where he was shot dead. The other person is yet to be identified, but his body was found at the main crossing in Nuh around 8.30pm on Monday.

Arif Khan, a resident of Sohna who worked at an eatery on the main road that links Sohna Road and Sector 67, said he was serving customers at 3pm when a mob of 200 entered the establishment and began tearing it apart. “I fled from the back, towards the market. They smashed all the utensils, broke the counter, and destroyed furniture. They then shouted slogans and fled,” he said.

Karib Hussain, a scrap dealer in Sector 67 said that 50 men entered his shop around 3.10pm carrying bottles filled with petrol. “They set fire to the bottles and launched them into the yard behind the store. The blaze spread within minutes and gutted the shop. I informed the police, who sent in fire tenders. But there was nothing left by then,” he said.

“We have deployed 1,600 officers across the city. Teams are conducting raids to arrest the suspects involved in violence and murder. All the forces are on alert, including senior officers,” Ramachandran said.

“Senior officials are taking rounds, keeping an eye on social media and tracking the movement of vehicles to ensure communal tensions are not stoked,” she added.

Satish Deswal, station house officer of Badshahpur police station, said 100 officers were out on the streets of Badshahpur alone to keep the area free of further turmoil.

In Nuh, police teams kept vigil throughout the day, as a tenuous peace persisted in the town.

Recollecting Monday’s incidents, Mukesh Saini, a shopkeeper said the mob was holding weapons and local police was given only a lathi to fight against them. “They (the police) could not save themselves, what would have they done for us,” Saini said.

Chief minister Khattar said efforts were on to identify and bring in people involved in perpetrating the violence, even as he pointed to, what, he said was a “larger conspiracy”

“It was a pre-planned attack that points towards a larger conspiracy as the Samajik Yatra, which was attacked, has been taking place annually for the past several years,” Khattar said after the meeting on Tuesday that also included Haryana home minister Anil Vij, deputy general of police (DGP) PK Agrawal and additional DGP (CID) Alok Mittal.

He added: “Authorities are investigating the incident further to ascertain the underlying causes and potential motives behind it. Efforts are underway to identify individuals involved in the incident and those not from the Nuh area.”

Gurugram deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Yadav said all senior officers have been ordered to monitor neighbourhoods across the district.

“In Gurugram, the situation is under control, Sohna was our main focus area. A peace committee meeting has taken place there, normalcy restored and markets have opened. We have conducted a flag march as well,” he said.

“Internet services have been suspended in Manesar and Pataudi to prevent the spread of fake news, rumours or hate speech on social media. We have appealed to the residents through the media that they should not pay heed to any rumours. The district administration is also keeping an eye on those who try to disturb harmony. The security of religious places in the district has also been beefed up. The residents of the district should also cooperate with the district administration in maintaining social harmony,” he added.

A 10-member committee of the Jamiat-e-Ulema Hind, including its Haryana president Mufti Salim Ahmed, and former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb met Gurugram commissioner of police Kala Ramachandran, expressing their concern on the burning of the Sector 57 mosque.

“Those who attacked the mosque had also recorded videos, probably to circulate on social media for inciting further violence. However, police have obtained those videos in which the faces of the suspects were clearly visible,” Adeeb said.

He added, “Why is murder suspect Monu Manesar being protected? He is uploading videos and provoking people but police are not arresting him?”

Deputy CM Chautala said the organisers of the rally did not furnish a proper estimate of the turnout expected.

“The organisers of Monday’s event did not give proper estimation and information to the district administration about the crowd participating in this event. The lack of this information seems to be at the root of this incident,” Chautala said.

However, Opposition parties hit out at the BJP and the Haryana government.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener called the clashes “deeply disturbing”.

“After Manipur in the Northeast, now, we have seen such incidents in Haryana, which is not a good sign. I pray with folded hands to all the people of Haryana that we maintain peace,” he tweeted.

Congress parliamentarian Deepender S Hooda blamed the state government for “administrative failure”.

“The Haryana home minister’s statement that it (the violence) did not happen suddenly itself shows administrative failure. Had the government been alert beforehand, this incident could have been averted,” he said.

In a statement, the Trinamool Congress said: “Govt’s incompetence in maintaining law and order has threatened the safety and security of the state’s residents.”