Following the anti-Hindu violence in Haryana’s Nuh, the state police arrested hundreds of Islamists, including Rohingya Muslims from the controversial Mewat region. On August 7, the police arrested two miscreants identified as Munsed and Saikul. The police said the accused had been arrested from Silkho village in Tawdu town after an encounter.
The police also seized a zip gun (Katta) and a motorcycle in this encounter with Islamists.
According to the reports, the police received information that two men, hailing from Rajasthan, involved in the communal clashes that broke out in Haryana’s Nuh on July 31, were going to Taavdu. When police intercepted them in Taavdu, they opened fire at the police, the police had to open fire in return and then caught the culprits.
The reports say, the police officers also fired shots at the suspects, Munsead and Saikul. Saikul received a bullet injury in his leg and police immediately rushed him to the hospital for medical treatment and he was arrested.
Police officers also said the hunt for the other suspect is underway in Taavdu’s mountainous region and further investigation is underway.
Nuh Violence
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.
Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that erupted in Muslim-dominated Nuh when a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession or the Braj Mandal Yatra was attacked by mobs on July 31. Gurugram also witnessed stray incidents of violence.
What triggered the violence?
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’ for 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 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 to even 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 tip of a sword. But we Meos cab stab and slash without fear.”
The Demography of Nuh
As per the census 2011 data, Nuh Tehsil of Mewat district has a total population of 287,101 as per the Census 2011. 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 that are rampant in the area.
Five tehsils of the Mewat region that fall in Haryana comprised more than a million Muslims in 2011. Their population share rose from 62 percent in 1971 to 75 percent in recent years. The report published by the Centre for Policy Studies reads, “From the data, it is clear that the Muslims of Mewat have numerically flourished in the period following Independence. And, they seem to be in the process of establishing an exclusively Muslim pocket in the near future.
