Violence has no religion: 'Allahhu Akbar' in Nuh, 'Jai Shree Ram' in Gurugram
NEW DELHI: A famous quote reads, “Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful.”Two districts in Haryana have been hit by severe communal violence; one religious slogan has been shouted down by another, only to be countered by one even louder. At least six people, including two home guards and a cleric, have died since clashes erupted in Nuh on July 31 over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, and spread to Gurugram over the past two days.
In one of the 93 FIRs registered by the Haryana Police, it has been mentioned that when the violence struck the Nuh district on July 31, a mob of rioters attacked a temple full of devotees. “I was on duty, present at the religious ‘Jalabhishek’ procession at the Nalhar temple, when around 800-900 unidentified members of a community carrying rods and stones and chanting ‘Allah-Hu-Akbar’ reached the temple to stop the procession,” the complaint lodged by an Assistant Sub-Inspector read.
Based on his complaint, the police registered an FIR under relevant sections of the IPC. According to the FIR, the police personnel present at the temple tried to pacify the mob but they opened fire at the devotees and during this a home guard named Bir Singh was injured. “We yet again tried to pacify the agitated mob, but they kept approaching the temple chanting slogans like ‘Allah-Hu-Akbar’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’. As they did not stop, I was forced to fire three shots in air and then the mob got agitated and poured petrol on the vehicles on the road and set them on fire,” the FIR read.
The flames of violence and arson reached Gurugram, but the tone of religious slogans changed this time. In another FIR of an incident of arson registered at Badshahpur police station in Gurugram on the complaint of Sub Inspector Balraj Singh, a mob of 10-15 people set a scrap shop on fire as it belonged to a man from a particular community.
According to the FIR, the said ASI received information that a scrap shop on Tikli road was set on fire. “When I enquired, they said that a mob of around 20-25 rioters, carrying sticks and canes, and chanting the slogan ‘Jai Shree Ram’ tried to flare up communal tension by chanting anti-religious slogans. They asked whether this scrap shop belonged to a Muslim and when confirmed, they set it on fire,” the FIR, accessed by this newspaper read.