The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on August 7, stayed the Haryana Government’s demolition drive on illegal encroachments in the Nuh district. On July 31, Islamists attacked the Shobha Yatra, pelting stones, vandalising public property and setting vehicles ablaze, leaving several injured.
The State Administration had initiated a demolition drive against illegal encroachments in the violence-hit district, after rioters unleashed violence against the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra in Mewat, Haryana.
The high court’s Division Bench, comprising Justices GS Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan, took suo motu cognisance of the Haryana Government’s demotion drive. The court issued a notice to the government and imposed a stay on the demolition drive. The court also questioned the Haryana Government’s demolition drive after the residents alleged that the administration did not serve a notice to them. The court will hear the matter again at 2 pm, today.
The State Administration has bulldozed about 250 shanties put up encroaching upon the government land in Tauru town. The administration has also razed a three-storey hotel where miscreants gathered to pelt stones at the police on July 31. Notably, the encroachments cropped up on Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) land in the last four years, inhabited mostly by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
Deputy Commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata asked the concerned officials to stop the bulldozer action following the high court’s directions. However, the local administration said that the action was taken against illegal encroachments and no individual was targeted.
“Demolition drive against illegal construction is underway and it will continue. Action is not being taken to target anyone. Our motive is to establish peace,” Khadgata said on August 6.
Islamists Attack Shobha Yatra
On July 31, an Islamist mob pelted stones at a Hindu religious procession in Haryana’s Nuh district. The devotees gathered to attend the procession, which covered temples in the district. Many media reports have revealed that the attack was pre-planned, as the locals were angry over a cow vigilante joining the procession. The other trigger point is assumed to be the state government’s action against cow smugglers.
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.
Media reports have claimed that a cow vigilante, Monu Manesar shared a video stating he will attend the Yatra no matter what Meo’s think of him. Manesar shared the video almost ten days before the Shobha Yatra.
Manesar, whose real name is Mohit Yadav, is a Bajrang Dal leader and head of its ‘gau rakshak’ dal in the state and a social media influencer.
He is a hated figure among the Meos for his ‘gau raksha’ activities where he and his team chase and intercept vehicles suspected of carrying stolen or smuggled cattle for slaughter. Nuh is a notorious hub of cow slaughter and beef trade.
Manesar was also named as a suspect by the family of victims in the infamous Nasir-Junaid murder case.
Nasir and Junaid, both Meo and residents of Ghatmika village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, were found burnt to death in Loharu in Haryana’s Bhiwani district. Their families accused ‘gau rakshaks’ of their murder, naming Monu Manesar as one of the suspects.
In their investigation, the Rajasthan Police did not name Manesar as a key accused but have named him in the chargesheet for a larger investigation.
After news of Manesar’s possible visit to Nuh spread, residents planned an attack on him. Social media is rife with videos and posts where Meos left death threats for Manesar and his Bajrang Dal team a day before the procession.
A resident of Pakistan, who falsely described himself as living in the Mewat region in India name ‘Ahsan Mewati Pakistani’ on his YouTube account is also considered a key instigator in the violence.
In one of the videos posted a day before the procession, Ahsan can be seen telling Meo residents of Mewat — called Mewatis — to beat up Hindus to teach them a lesson.
He says, “This Monu Manesar is coming to Mewat. He should be killed. Why are Mewatis so scared? These Hindus should be beaten and taught a lesson.”
He further abuses the Hindu community and says Muslims are not scared even to slit throats. “If Monu enters Mewat, then kill him. Either kill or get killed. If you die, you will be called a martyr and get Jannat,” he says, and adds, “Hindus shiver when they see the tip of a sword. But we Meos cab stab and slash without fear.”
