Like all communal clashes, the Nuh violence has led to a political blame game. Ahead of the general elections next year and elections in some states later this year, some sections want the communal cauldron simmering for reasons best known to them.
Nuh
The immediate trigger for the clashes in the Muslim-dominated Nuh in Haryana on Monday happened to be the stopping and pelting of stones at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) 'Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra,' by young men near Khedla Mod. Stones were also pelted at police vehicles, reports said.
However, Bajrang Dal member and cow vigilante Monu Manesar alias Mohit Yadav is back in the limelight after the Nuh violence. Monu was linked to the killing of two alleged cattle smugglers in Bhiwani in February this year. It has been reported that a few "triggering" videos on social media by Monu Monesar, who is absconding in the Bhiwani double-murder case and another Bajrang Dal leader Bittu Bajrangi, set the stages for the Nuh violence.
Gurugram
The violence that broke out in Nuh spread to Gurugram and other areas on Tuesday resulting in the death of a Muslim cleric and the destruction of a mosque in Sector 57. The dead cleric was identified as Maulana Saad (26). Reports quoting sources in the Gurugram Police said the mob reached the mosque past midnight, opened fire on its inmates and set it ablaze. The cleric succumbed to his injuries after being admitted to a local hospital. Two Home Guards and four civilians were also killed in the violence.
In related violence, at least 14 shops, mostly belonging to Muslim men, were torched and vandalised in Gurugram’s Badshahpur on Tuesday, reports said. A mob of 200 men in motorcycles and SUVs landed in the main market and targeted the outlets mostly selling biriyani. The mob ransacked shops belonging to a particular community and chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in front of a mosque in Badshahpur, news agency PTI reported.
A total of 116 people have been arrested and 44 FIRs registered till Tuesday across Haryana following the clashes. At least 120 vehicles were damaged during the violence in the district. Of these, 50, including eight belonging to the police, were set ablaze.
Apart from Gurugram, violence were also reported in the Palwal district, where a mob set more than 25 huts ablaze in Parshuram Colony.
On Wednesday, members of the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) staged protests, following the Supreme Court nod, in several parts of Delhi against the Nuh violence.
'Why people participating in religious procession were carrying weapons?'
Meanwhile, Gurgaon MP and Union Minister of State (MoS) Rao Inderjit Singh in an interview with Indian Express questioned why people were carrying weapons to participate in a religious procession and stated that provocation from both sides resulted in the violence.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said violence in the name of religion cannot be tolerated in 21st-century India and the coming generations will have to bear the consequences if people do not unite against such divisive elements.
"What is going on in some parts of Haryana or what the RPF constable did are like giving a deep wound on mother India's heart," he said.
These days, the Congress chief said, "The trend of disintegration seen in the fabric of society is the result of spreading hatred in the society in the greed for power. Mixing the poison of animosity in the public and making them fight with each other is like making fun of our Constitution," he said.
"If we do not unite and unitedly raise our voice against these divisive elements today, then the coming generations will have to bear its consequences. Leave hatred, unite India," Kharge said in a tweet in Hindi.
Haryana CM says "justice will be ensured"
Stating that "no accused will be spared," Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said that "justice" for the victims of Nuh violence will be ensured.
“Strict and decisive action will be taken against anyone found guilty of involvement in the Nuh violence. No one will be spared. Justice for the victims and their families will be ensured,” Khattar said, adding no action will be taken against those who are innocent.
Calling the violence that broke out in Nuh as “unfortunate”, he said that the incident had led to the deaths of six people, including four civilians and two home guard personnel.
(With agency inputs)