New Delhi: Satyapal Malik, a former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, claimed that the violence that started in Nuh in Haryana and extended to other areas of the state was pre-planned.
He claimed that the attacks, which took place in seven to eight separate locations, were carefully planned in order to create a communal divide, The Wire reported.
If these people are not contained, “the entire country will burn like Manipur,” he warned.
“Jats by culture or tradition believe in the Arya Samaj way of life and are not very religious in the traditional sense of the term. Neither are the Muslims of this area very traditional in their outlook. Therefore one has never heard of the two communities clashing in this manner ever since Independence. And these attacks will only increase in the run-up to 2024 as is evident in Manipur,” he was quoted as saying by The Wire while addressing a packed hall at the Constitution Club.
Earlier, in Sector 57 of Haryana’s Gurugram, a mosque was burnt down, and its deputy imam (naib imam) Maulana Saad, aged 19, was killed by a Hindu mob in the early hours of a Tuesday. Three others were also killed by the mob.
This incident occurred after communal violence broke out in the Nuh district of Haryana.
The violence in Nuh district started after clashes between Hindu devotees participating in a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession and Muslims.
The procession was halted near the Khedla Mod area in Nuh, leading to the throwing of stones at the devotees and the burning of several vehicles by members of the Muslim community, Scroll reported quoting a senior police official.
Reports suggest that the cause of the clash might have been an objectionable video posted on social media by a Bajrang Dal activist in Ballabhgarh. On Monday, two home guards lost their lives in the violence.
Mohammad Aslam, a member of the mosque committee, revealed that the attackers arrived around midnight and were armed with swords, lathis, and guns, Scroll reported.
Altaf Ahmad, the spokesperson of citizen platform Gurgaon Ekta Manch, stated that the mosque used to be filled with people during Friday prayers. It was the only mosque in new Gurugram where Muslims could pray in congregation without disturbances or threats during the opposition to Namaz in open spaces in 2021-’22 by Hindutva vigilantes.
However, now this mosque has also been burned down by communal forces.
The situation remained tense in Nuh and other areas on Tuesday, but no fresh cases of violence were reported since the morning. Prohibitory orders banning large gatherings have been imposed in Nuh, Gurugram, Palwal, and Faridabad, and internet services have been suspended in Nuh until Wednesday.
The police have taken action by registering about 20 cases and detaining several individuals in connection with the violence.
A curfew was imposed in Nuh while armed forces were deployed and internet suspended in the area and a few more neighbouring districts to contain the spread of violence.
