Cow vigilante Raj Kumar alias Bittu Bajrangi, who was accused of instigating the communal violence during the Braj Mandal Jalabhishek in July 2023, was put under house arrest in Faridabad to prevent him from participating in the annual religious procession in Haryana’s Nuh on Monday.
The 2023 violence spread to Gurugram and left six people dead and over 70 injured. Bajrangi, who heads the Goarakshak Bajrang Force, was booked for rioting, assault, brandishing weapons, and dacoity in connection with the communal violence. He was among 292 people arrested for the violence. Another cow vigilante, Mohit Yadav alias Monu Manesar, was accused of releasing provocative videos that inflamed communal tensions.
Police said two armed personnel were deployed outside the residence of Bajrangi in Faridabad on Sunday evening. They will remain there until the procession is completed, they added.
The Nuh Police denied Bajrangi permission to attend the yatra before he was put under house arrest. Faridabad Police public relations officer Yashpal Yadav said that Bajrangi submitted an undertaking on Sunday that he would not make any unwarranted statements.
Kumar said he was taken to a police station from his residence on Sunday evening to keep him there until the procession in Nuh was completed. “I requested them to keep me at my home...they allowed me to go after I submitted the undertaking and they placed two armed personnel at my house’s entrance,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar said he was taken to a police station from his residence on Sunday evening to keep him there until the procession in Nuh was completed. “I requested them to keep me at my home...they allowed me to go after I submitted the undertaking and they placed two armed personnel at my house’s entrance,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Kumar moved the Punjab and Haryana high court for permission to attend the procession. He urged an urgent hearing on his petition.
Police were separately deployed at a Muslim shrine after it was damaged at Sainipura in Nuh’s Tuaru town hours before the commencement of the yatra. Nuh deputy commissioner Vishram Kumar Meena said the situation was peaceful. “Senior officials are camping in the area to ensure peace and tranquillity. All stakeholders have been taken into confidence after holding meetings with them following the incident, which was probably aimed at disrupting peace,” Meena said.
He said the yatra was being held peacefully across the district. Meena said that drones are deployed around temples, and CCTV cameras have been installed at key locations to monitor movements. “This time, police personnel are also patrolling the hills around the Nalhar Temple for surveillance.”
In 2023, devotees en route to the Nalhar Temple were attacked from a hilltop.