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Tension grips Haryana's Nuh after stones pelted at religious procession; internet restricted
The police lobbed teargas shells to disperse crowd and summoned troops from other areas as the two sides hurled stones at each other.
A home guard was shot dead and over 50 people including policemen were injured in Haryana's Nuh after some miscreants pelted stones and set cars on fire during a religious procession on Monday, news agency PTI reported citing the police.
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An official said about a dozen policemen were injured in the clashes. Eight of them were taken to Gurugram’s Medanta hospital. Among the injured, Hodal Deputy Superintendent of Police Sajjan Singh was shot in the head and an inspector in the stomach.
The home guard, Neeraj, died during the treatment in the hospital.
According to the police, a religious procession, 'Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra', which was flagged off from Gurugram’s Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar, was stopped by a group of men near Khedla Mod in Nuh.
"Stones were pelted at the procession, and at least four cars were set on fire," the official said.
Watch: VHP's Shobha Yatra Attacked In Haryana's Nuh; Lynching Accused Monu Manesar's Presence Sparks Clash
Meanwhile, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has appealed to maintain peace in the state.
"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, strictest action will be taken against them," he tweeted.
State home minister Anil Vij said that the government has sent additional troops from neighbouring districts. "Our first priority is to bring situation under control. We are appealing to all to maintain peace. We are also trying to send forces by helicopter," he told PTI.
He further said that he spoke to the director general of police, additional chief secretary, and other senior officials over the incident.
Congress MLA from Nuh, Ch Aftab Ahmed said, “We are appealing to people to maintain peace and not pay heed to rumours. The situation is unfortunate. I have never seen such failure of administration and police.”
The police had lobbed teargas shells to disperse crowd while, the state government has temporarily suspended the mobile internet services till Wednesday in the tension gripped area. Prohibitory orders and IPC's Section 144, banning the assembly of people were imposed in Nuh and Gurugram districts.
“In order to stop the spread of misinformation and rumours through various social media platforms, for facilitation and mobilisation of mobs of agitators who can cause serious loss of life and damage to public and private properties by indulging in arson or vandalism and other types of violent activities, I, Home Secretary, Haryana do hereby order the suspension of the mobile internet services in the jurisdiction of district Nuh in the state of Haryana and shall be in force w.e.f. 31.07.2023 (16:00hrs) to 02.08.2023 (23:59 hrs),” the order read.
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According to the reports, the clashes were triggered after Bajrang Dal activist Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante who is accused of lynching two Muslim men, and his associates had circulated an objectionable video a few days ago and were supposed to join the procession.
The police later carried out a flag march to maintain law and order in the region. “The situation in the area is stable," Nuh SHO Hukam Singh told PTI.
(With inputs from agencies)
