A religious procession organised by Hindus that started from Gurugram was violently obstructed by members of the Muslim community in Haryana’s Nuh district. In the violent clashes, Islamists pelted stones set hundreds of vehicles ablaze, and vandalized public property, leaving as many as two security personnel and four civilians dead. After the centre’s intervention and with the help of paramilitary forces, the situation was brought under control.
The VHP’s procession
The religious procession, ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra’, was flagged off from Gurugram’s Civil Lines by Bharatiya Janata Party district president Gargi Kakkar. When it reached Khedla Mod in Nuh, it was attacked, police said.
The Haryana Police have informed PTI that stones were pelted and cars were set on fire during a religious procession in Haryana’s Nuh. Two home guards were shot dead and about a dozen policemen were injured, police said.
Nuh Violence: Section 144 imposed
As tensions gripped the state, prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people under section 144 of the CrPC were imposed in Nuh and Gurugram districts. Along with this, mobile internet services have also been suspended in Nuh and Faridabad till August 2.
The Haryana government said that a peace committee meeting will be held in Sohna at 11 am on August 1. Reportedly, six people died in the clashes in parts of Haryana after violence broke out during a religious procession on July 31.
Paramilitary forces deployed
About the paramilitary forces, the Haryana government said on August 1 that at least 13 companies of paramilitary forces have reached Nuh district, and 6 more companies will reach shortly. “The situation is normal in all the districts around Nuh as well. Section 144 has been imposed as a precautionary measure in Faridabad, Palwal, Gurugram.”
CM calls for peace
The Chief Minister of the state, Manohar Lal Khattar said the citizens should cooperate in the interest of the state by following the principle of “Haryana Ek Haryanvi Ek”, asserting that all issues can be resolved through dialogue. The chief minister said that the kind of situation that has arisen in Nuh, the responsibility of every common citizen towards the society increases further.
2500 Hindus sought refuge in a temple
With the situation turning violent in Nuh, around 2,500 men, women and children sought refuge at the Nalhar Mahadev temple. The area outside the temple became tense as Islamists pelted stones and arson incidents were reported. In response, the police used tear gas and shots in the air, while calling for reinforcements.
With the help of paramilitary forces, the stranded people have been safely rescued from the temple.
Monu Manesar Angle in Haryana’a Nuh Violence
As per reports, what triggered the violence was an announcement made by Bajrang Dal activist and ‘gau rakshak’ Monu Manesar through social media that he would be joining the religious event at Nuh despite threats. Manesar was named as a suspect by the family of victims in the Nasir-Junaid murder case in Rajasthan.
Several clips and videos emerged from the ground showing that the attack was not instantaneous and was entirely preplanned. Manesar is facing death threats over his alleged involvement in the case, also released a video a few days ago saying he would not cancel his visit to Haryana’s Nuh. In the said video he also threw a challenge at his opponents to stop him.
Other than this a video also came up on July 31, where a YouTuber threatened Manesar from entering Nuh. A video of the same can be seen here:
#mewat Burning: In a viral video on a Facebook Page “Mewati Youtuber “, a person named Aarif issuing a warning to Monu Manesar, advising him not to return to Mewat. pic.twitter.com/dAi9SmwUFk
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) July 31, 2023
Demography in Haryana’s Nuh
Mewat region is divided into two parts, one lies in Haryana whereas the other lies in Rajasthan. The Nuh district falls in Harayna’s side and resides over 80 percent of the Muslim population. Most of them belong to the Meo jaati.
As per the census 2011 data, Nuh Tehsil of Mewat district has a total population of 287,101 as per the Census 2011. Out of which 151,232 are males while 135,869 are females. As far as the Hindus and followers of other religions including Islam are concerned the data makes it very clear why Nuh is called as a region dominated by Islamists.
With 219,716 Muslims in the district, the Islamists made up a fair 77 percent of the total population. On the other hand with 66,285 Hindus the Hindu population makes up 23 percent of the total population. Forced conversion, cow smuggling, abduction, drugs and murder are some of the many crimes which are rampant in the area.
The 2019 High Courts ruling
In March 2019, it was reported that Punjab and Haryana high court pulled up the Haryana police chief over illegal cow slaughter activities in Nuh. The court observed that “the offences are being committed by hardcore smugglers, fully trained and that too in a well-planned manner on large scale in an organized way.”
With no conviction to date in cases of cow smuggling the judges heavily came down on the police chief. “This shows that there is a complete inaction on the part of the police of District Mewat or deliberately the accused are let to go, or there is a question mark for registration of these cases,” the judge said.
Zero convictions in cow smuggling cases
In April 2019, Haryana’s Director General of Police (DGP) Manoj Yadava submitted a report which shows out of 800 cases of cow smuggling, not a single person has been convicted.
The DGP’s report, which compiled data for nearly three years, between the enforcement of the act in November 2015 and March 2019 said; A total of 792 FIRs were registered in district Mewat (renamed to Nuh) out of which accused were arrested on the spot in only 96 cases. In the rest of the 696 cases, the accused managed to escape.
A total of 2156 accused were booked under the Act but only 1194 had been arrested. While 236 were arrested on the spot, 958 were arrested later on. In 386 cases, no arrests of the 856 accused were made. Only 13 cases went to court but even then, not even a single person was convicted. As many as 17 got acquitted.
These figures are just the tip of the iceberg, showing how crimes despite having dedicated laws are not working on the ground.
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