Chandigarh, August 1, 2023: As per media reports, Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday said the scale of violence in Nuh district and the “pre-planned attack” on a procession when it was passing through the communally sensitive region points towards a bigger conspiracy.
According to the news published in The HindustanTimes, sday after violence erupted in Nuh during the procession called by right-wing Hindu groups VHP and Bajrang Dal that were marching to a temple, snowballing into full-fledged clashes between Hindu and Muslim groups later in the day and on Tuesday, with incidents reported from Gurugram, home to top Indian and global companies, chief minister Khattar chaired a high-level meeting to discuss the prevailing situation and said the troublemakers would not be spared.
“Home minister Anil Vij was present in the meeting, while director general of police (DGP) PK Agrawal and additional DGP (CID) Alok Mittal, who are camping in Nuh, attended the meeting through video conferencing.
The BJP-JJP coalition government, which has been left red-faced by the size and scale of the arson in Nuh where rioters attacked police stations, torched vehicles, resorted to stone pelting and used firearms, said a probe has been ordered into the incident”, -HindustanTimes added.
Late on Tuesday, India Today TV showed the district’s intelligence chief as claiming that he had warned of trouble if participants in the procession walked through the Muslim areas of Nuh, waving swords and shouting slogans. The channel also showed Nuh Sadar’s SHO claiming that he received no intelligence inputs.
According to Khattar, five people have so far been killed, including three civilians and two home guards. The police have lodged 44 First Information Reports (FIRs) and at least 70 people have been detained. Among the scores of police personnel injured are three policemen who received bullet injuries and are on ventilators.
“It was a pre-planned attack that points towards a larger conspiracy as the procession, which was attacked, has been taking place annually for the past several years,” Khattar said, pointing out that the attackers included several outsiders.
That was seconded by policemen who said there seemed to have been significant mobilisation of people and arms in anticipation of the procession, something they attributed to Manesar’s declaration that he too would be part of the march.
“The authorities are investigating the incident further to ascertain the underlying causes and potential motives behind it. Efforts are underway to identify individuals involved in the incident and who are not from the Nuh area,” Khattar said.
Reiterating that there seems to be a larger conspiracy at play to disturb the law-and-order situation in the state, he said the attackers didn’t just target members of the procession but also the police, thereby managing to disrupt the yatra.
Earlier, Haryana home minister Anil Vij said that the incident did not appear to be spontaneous and that it was masterminded by elements who are against peace. He said the violence in Nuh was unfortunate as both Hindus and Muslims have lived together peacefully in Nuh for years.
The anti-social elements collected stones, bullets were fired…it did not happen suddenly…therefore, an inquiry has been set up in this matter and whoever is found guilty will not be spared,” Vij added, appealing to parties to not politicise the incident, – HindustanTimes added.
