Nuh turns into a fortress: Cops say no yatra, only devotees allowed to pray

ADGP Mamta Singh told The Indian Express, “There was no yatra. We had told them we would not hamper the jalabhishek programme and people offered it without any issue like any other Monday. Around 700-800 people offered jalabhishek today. Our denial was only for the yatra. There were many locals from across Nuh who came in 14-15 vehicles. Since we didn’t want to have a crowd gathered at the temple, we asked them to park their vehicles at Police Lines and took them in two tempo travellers. One was occupied by a few VHP members and some sadhus. I am not aware if they are going to all three temples. We checked all vehicles and no weapons were found. No arrests or detentions have been made in Nuh as of now.”

There were multiple checkpoints on the road leading to Nalhar temple, starting from Ghamroj toll plaza in Sohna.

At the Gurgaon-Nuh border, police and Rapid Action Force personnel took down details of passengers and their vehicles before entering the district. ADGP Singh had said they did not restrict locals from entering the temple as the Jalabhishek programme has been taking place for some years. “However, learning from the July 31 violence, we took all precautions,” she said.

Around 11 am, from the Police Lines in Nuh, police escorted two tempos with yatris and one with personnel to Nalhar mandir who later went to Jhir mandir at Ferozepur Jhirka and Singar temple in Punhana, an officer said.

An SUV with people from Shri Hanumanth Dham Ashram in Haridwar was also let through to offer prayers.

Two men who The Indian Express spoke to had come from Palwal’s Hathin. “We were let in by police early in the morning and offered prayers. We had followed the vehicles to Jhir, but returned halfway due to health issues,” said Jhamman Singh.

A little distance away from the temple, police let in locals after checking their Aadhaar card addresses to verify their domicile status. Gopal Mathur from Nuh said he went to offer prayers at the temple and came back in half an hour. “There were around 200 people when I went. It was like a usual Monday as police and administration had denied permission for the yatra. Several officers were present at the temple, too. It was very peaceful and we didn’t crowd because of the orders from police,” he said.

Meanwhile, VHP president Alok Kumar, who was at the temple with Hindu seers, said that yatra went to Nalhar temple after which it went to Jhir and Singar temples peacefully. “On this day, the last Monday of Shrawan, we had to complete the yatra after it was disrupted on July 31. This is a Hindu victory… I extend my gratitude to all organisations, including the Hindu society, RSS and VHP, for their cooperation. Due to G20, we had to conduct it with fewer people,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a Hindu outfit leader, claimed police stopped him from attending the yatra. “At 8.26 am, police came to my residence and didn’t let me leave my house. They only left at 5 pm,” he said.