- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The clash reportedly started during a religious procession taken out by a Hindu right-wing group in Nuh, located near Gurugram, known to be one of the country’s premier financial and technology hubs.
By: Shubham Ghosh
FIVE people, including an Imam, were reportedly killed while at least 30 got injured in a violence that broke out between two groups in the northern Indian state of Haryana on Monday (31).
The clash reportedly started during a religious procession taken out by a Hindu right-wing group in Nuh, located near Gurugram, known to be one of the country’s premier financial and technology hubs.
The police said two among the deceased were home guards who were shot as a mob tried to stop the religious rally by throwing stones and setting several cars on fire. Another man, in his 20s, was killed in the night after a mob attacked a mosque in Gurugram as the violence affected a neighbouring district, NDTV reported.
The identity of the fourth man was yet to be known.
Trouble started when the procession — Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra — organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, was halted by a group of youth on the national highway connecting Gurugram and Alwar.
As the situation worsened, both government and private vehicles were targeted by the mob. As the day progressed, the violence spread to Gurugram-Sohna highway, where many vehicles were torched and stones were were thrown at the police, the NDTV report said, citing sources.
More than 2,000 people, including women and children, who had come to Nuh to take part in the procession, were left stranded in a local temple because of the disturbance. They were rescued by the police later.
Haryana is ruled by prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.
Internet services were temporarily suspended in Nuh till Wednesday (2) and curfew was imposed to prevent further escalation of violence. Prohibitory orders banning big gatherings were also put in place in areas such as Palwal and Faridabad besides Gurugram.
Schools, colleges and educational institutions in Gurugram and Faridabad districts remained shut on Tuesday (1).
According to reports, the clash was triggered by an objectionable video which was recently posted on social media by an activist of the Bajrang Dal, another Hindu nationalist outfit, and his associates.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar called the incident “unfortunate” in a post in Hindi on X and appealing to people to maintain peace, he warned that the guilty will not be spared.
आज की घटना दुर्भाग्यपूर्ण है, मैं सभी लोगों से प्रदेश में शांति बनाए रखने की अपील करता हूँ।
दोषी लोगों को किसी भी कीमत पर बख्शा नहीं जाएगा, उनके खिलाफ सख्त से सख्त कार्रवाई की जाएगी।
— Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) July 31, 2023
“Today’s incident is unfortunate, I appeal to all the people to maintain peace in the state. The guilty will not be spared at any cost, strictest action will be taken against them,” he said.
Anil Vij, the state’s home minister, told ANI, “The situation in Nuh is under control and a curfew has been imposed in the district…Both communities have been staying in Nuh peacefully for a long time. There is a conspiracy behind this. The way stones, weapons, bullets were found, it seems there is a mastermind behind this. We will conduct a detailed investigation and take strict actions against the people involved in this.”
