Ground Reports
Stone pelting in Nuh
Swarajya has accessed at least 15 first information reports (FIRs) filed at various police stations of Haryana's Nuh district on 1 August, a day after a Hindu procession came under attack by members of the Muslim community.
Most of these cases were filed on the statements of constables and officers attached to police stations in Nuh. At least one case was filed for an attack at a police station in adjoining Gurugram district. One of these 15 cases was filed on the statement of a civilian from Panipat who came to Nuh to join the procession.
So far, two home guards and four civilians, named Abhishek, Pradeep Sharma, Shakti Singh and Hafiz Saad, have been identified as casualties in the violence that broke out on 31 July, before spreading to adjoining areas.
What happened: On the morning of 31 July, several thousand people from the Hindu community had gathered in Nuh to commence 'Mewat darshan' — a procession where devotees visit prominent Hindu temples of the Mewat region.
Nuh, part of the Meo-dominated Mewat region that stretches to Rajasthan's Alwar and Bharatpur districts along with some parts of Uttar Pradesh, was called Mewat until the Haryana government changed its name.
Here are the details of the FIRs accessed by Swarajya
Cases filed at City Nuh police station on 1 August:
1. FIR on statement of Pankaj Kumar, in-charge of law and order at Gurugram Sector 39 police station (number 252/2023)
Statement recorded in the FIR: A mob of 600-700 people, chanting Allahu Akbar, entered the police station and attacked him and his team. Two officers from Sector 40 Gurugram police station, Anil Kumar and Jagbeer, sustained severe injuries. One of them was shot in the stomach.
2. FIR on statement of PSI Suraj (number 253/3023)
3. FIR on statement of constable Ravinder (number 254/2023)
4. FIR on statement of sub-inspector Anil Kumar (number 255/2023)
5. FIR on statement of constable Bijendra Kumar (number 256/2023)
6. FIR on statement of supervisor Ajay Kumar of Sherki Daula police station in Gurugram (number 257/2023)
7. FIR on statement of Tekchand, a process server at the Nuh district court (number 258/2023)
8. FIR on statement of Abid Hussain of cyber crime thana (number 259/2023)
9. FIR on statement of Ramendra Singh, a public servant (number 260/2023)
10. FIR by constable Neeraj (number 261/2023 filed at City Nuh police station on 1 August)
The FIRs filed at Sadar Nuh police station on 1 August:
11. FIR by ASI Dharmendra (number 398/2023)
Statement: A mob of 800-900 people, chanting Allahu Akbar, menacingly started running towards the temple from where the devotees were set to commence the yatra. They also opened fire in which home guard Bir Singh sustained severe injuries. Some in the crowd also chanted slogans of ‘Pakistan Zindabad’ and threw petrol bombs.
12. FIR by Duty Magistrate Mukul Kathuriya (number 399/2023)
Statement: He was posted at Nalhar temple for duty for the yatra. A mob of 800-900 people of a specific religion who spoke in the dialect of Mewat and adjoining areas of Rajasthan, gathered near the temple and started attacking the devotees. They came from nearby fields and hills and, chanting Allahu Akbar, started pelting stones at the temple to disrupt the yatra.
They also fired at the devotees using their illegally made weapons. All his efforts to drill sense into the mob went in vain.
13. FIR on statement of constable Mandeep Singh (number 400/2023)
14. FIR on statement on Panipat resident Mahipal Singh, who was a participant in the yatra (number 401/2023 filed)
Statement: He and his cousin Abhishek came from Noorwala village in Panipat to attend Mewat darshan as part of Brij Mandal yatra on 31 July. They stopped at the Nalhar mahadev temple, from where the yatra was to commence for visiting different temples in Mewat around 1.30 pm after jalabhishek.
Around 3,000-4,000 people from across Haryana had arrived at the temple, many of them in private buses. However, the police stopped the devotees from going out of the temple. Around 5 pm, heavy stone-pelting started from the hills surrounding the temple. A mob of 800-900 people started rushing towards the temple from all around, raising chants of Allahu Akbar. They started pelting stones and bricks at the devotees. Abhishek got severely injured in the attack.
15. FIR on statement of senior constable Jitendra (number 402/2023)
Statement: Shamim, Abid and Waqeel barged into the police station along with a mob of 100-150 people and pelted stones while chanting Allahu Akbar. They also set the parked vehicles on fire.
Swarajya will bring more details of the cases filed in the coming days.