Chandigarh/Gurugram: The Haryana government on Wednesday sought four more companies of central forces as arson and vandalism continued in Gurugram and a Bajrang Dal activist died in hospital, taking the toll in communal violence that began from adjoining Nuh to six. Five godowns were set ablaze and two meat shops were ransacked in the Gurugram district late Tuesday night by mobs which authorities say mostly disperse before the police arrive. On Wednesday, two ‘jhuggis’ were torched and a tea shop was vandalised.
In another slum, some huts were ransacked. Bajrang Dal’s Pradeep Sharma, who succumbed to his injuries in a Delhi hospital, was among the over 50 people injured Monday when mobs attacked a Vishva Hindu Parishad Yatra near Khedla Mod in Nuh.
Five people, including two home guards, have died after that attack in Muslim-dominated Nuh. In neighbouring Gurugram, a cleric was killed when a mob attacked a mosque the same night. Four people have been arrested so far for this.
The VHP and Bajrang Dal held protests in several parts of the national capital over the Nuh attack. A sit-in at the Haryana-Delhi border caused a long jam, hampering movement between Delhi and Faridabad.
The Supreme Court also weighed in on Wednesday, ordering enhanced deployment of security personnel in sensitive areas and a crackdown on hate speech. But the bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and S V Bhatti refused to stop the proposed rallies by the two Hindu groups in Delhi and the National Capital Region.
There have been several cases of arson and vandalism in the Gurugram district, which borders Delhi after the Nuh clash on Monday but no casualties have been reported after the mosque attack. But there have been reports of Muslim migrant workers locking up their homes, and considering going back home. Like Rehmat Ali who lives in sector 70A.
“Some people came on motorcycles on Tuesday night, threatening us that if we don’t leave they would set fire to our slum. Police are here since the night but my family is scared and we are leaving the city,” the autorickshaw driver from West Bengal said. “We can come back when the situation improves,” he added.
Police have asked people to report such threats to them, promising protection. Prohibitory orders remain in force in Nuh, Gurugram and other affected districts. CM Khattar told the media in Chandigarh that 116 people have been arrested and 90 detained so far.
He said 41 cases have been registered in the state. Apart from the state police, 20 companies of central forces are deployed in the affected districts, most of them in Nuh.
CM Khattar said the government has sought four more companies from the Centre, and will also deploy a battalion of Haryana-based India Reserve Battalion.
In Gurugram alone, 50 people have been arrested so far, the local police said. Among them is Dinesh Bharti, who heads Jai Bharat Mata Vahini and is booked for posting a video allegedly inciting communal violence.
The district police have identified 50 social media accounts carrying objectionable material. Three of the godowns torched Tuesday night in Gurugram are located near Teekli village, and the other two are in Palam Vihar and sector 70A. Some jhuggis in a slum near Nakhdola village were ransacked by a group of young men. Two meat shops were targeted in Badshahpur.
