Nuh violence: Buildings used for stone-pelting razed, mahapanchayat held

Gurugram/Nuh: Authorities in Nuh district Sunday razed some illegal structures including a hotel from where stones were allegedly pelted on a religious procession last week, even as a mahapanchayat was held in support of four men arrested over arson at a mosque and the death of its junior imam.

Sunday was the fourth day of demolition drive after the communal flare-up in the district, with Deputy Commissioner Dhirender Khadgata saying a total of 162 illegally built permanent and 591 makeshift structures were razed and 57.5 acres land across 37 sites made encroachment-free.

The mahapanchayat of the Hindu community was organised in Tigra village in Gurugram on Sunday in protest against the arrest of four accused in the mosque case, and gave a seven-day ultimatum to police for their release.

A four-member Communist Party of India (CPI) delegation tried to visit the violence-affected villages near Nuh but was stopped by police citing prohibitory orders. "We have decided to go back because we don't want any confrontation. Hooligans, goons and miscreants can go freely, but democratic people who have come here for peacemaking are stopped," CPI Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam said.

TMC leader and Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale and some others questioned the demolition drive alleging it targeted only a particular community.

"For the last 2 days, the Nuh District Administration has been demolishing houses and shops belonging to Muslims who they claim are 'illegal immigrants & Rohingyas encroaching on govt land'," Gokhale alleged.

He also said on Twitter he has written to Nuh Sub-divisional Magistrate Ashwani Kumar seeking an explanation.

SDM Kumar said the 16 structures, including the Sahara Family restaurant-cum-hotel, that were identified for demolition on Sunday were built illegally and were used by "hooligans" to throw stones during the clashes that began in Nuh last Monday and spread to neighbouring Gurugram.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the communal clashes that erupted when the Vishva Hindu Parishad procession was attacked by mobs on Monday in Nuh.

On Tuesday, Anjuman Masjid was set ablaze in the Sector 57 area of Gurugram and its 26-year-old junior imam was killed. Police have arrested four people -- Ankit, Rahul, Ravinder and Rakesh -- from the nearby Tigra village in connection with the incident.

The mahapanchayat also demanded the removal of the Anjuman mosque in Sector 57 since the area is Hindu-dominated. It formed a 101-people committee to track the matter. It was adjourned with the ultimatum if the youths are not released, a "big decision" will be taken.

Municipal Corporation of Gurugram's outgoing councillor Mahesh Dayma said that the committee will submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner on Monday demanding the release of the four youths arrested from the village in the mosque murder case and also an impartial inquiry into the matter.

A memorandum will be given to all MLAs and ministers too with the same set of demands, he said.

The mahapanchayat was held under the chairmanship of Sarpanch Attar Singh of Mohammadpur village. Despite the implementation of Section 144, about 700 people from more than 100 nearby villages participated in it.

Among those present were former MLAs from Sohna, Sanjay Singh and Tejpal Tanwar, both from BJP, and several councillors and sarpanches.

The Nuh district administration had on Saturday bulldozed illegal constructions at 12 different places including on 2.6 acres of land around Nalhar Medical College.

"These were illegal constructions. Notices were already given to the owners of the demolished structures. The owners of some illegal structures were also involved in the violence during the Braj Mandal religious yatra. The demolition drive will continue," SDM Kumar had said on Saturday.

The police were continuing raids to nab those involved in the violence that erupted on July 31.

Till Saturday, 147 people have been arrested and a total of 56 FIRs registered, officials said, adding eight people arrested on Friday were residents of Bharatpur and Alwar districts in Rajasthan.

A 50-member team from Gurugram police scoured the Nalhad hill on Sunday from where hooligans had allegedly opened fire on devotees.

"The search operation continued from 10 am to 3 pm on Sunday. Two 'desi katta' (country-made pistols) and a dozen bullet shells have been found on the upper part of the hill.

"A 'desi katta' has been recovered near Khedla Chowk. All the weapons have been sent for forensic examination," a police officer said.

Home Minister Anil Vij, meanwhile, on Sunday apparently hinted he was not kept in the loop over the situation. "Dekhiye, Nuh mamle mein jo bhi batayenge mukhya mantri ji batayenge, unhi ke paas sari soochnaye hai. Jo kuchh maine kehna tha mein keh chuka (See, on the Nuh issue, whatever has to be said only the chief minister will tell you...he has all the information. Whatever I had to say (on Nuh), I have said it)," Vij told reporters in Ambala when asked about the update on Nuh.

DC Dhirendra Khadgata and Superintendent of Police Narendra Bijarania jointly visited several areas in Nuh on Sunday, appealing to people to ensure that those involved in the riots are arrested.

"The accused will not be spared. The culprits should come and surrender themselves. Otherwise, the Haryana Police knows how to catch them," Bijarnia said.

There was signs of normalcy returning to Nuh with an official saying banks and ATMs will reopen on a trial basis on Monday, a week after the clashes broke out.

However, in the Ballabhgarh sub-division of Faridabad district, mobile internet and SMS services were suspended from 1 pm on August 6 till 11:59 pm on August 7 in the wake of "communal tension".

Also, a group of motorcycle-borne masked men on Sunday allegedly vandalised some shops and injured a few people at two places in Panipat. The attackers targeted shops belonging to members of a particular community at two places in Panipat, the police said.

The police later rounded up 15 people and they are being questioned, an official in Panipat said. "The attackers wearing mask were aged between 20 and 25 years, and were riding motorcycles," he said.