Nuh violence: Yatra management not at its best, strict action will be taken against accused, says Haryana Deputy CM

Speaking at Idea Exchange at The Indian Express Tuesday (a detailed transcript will be published soon), Chautala said: “There was an incident yesterday and I feel that the management was not at its best. The SP (Superintendent of Police, Nuh) was on leave due to a family situation and the charge was given to the SP of a neighbouring district who could not assess the situation in a better manner.”

Stressing that all accused would be brought to book, he said, “The issue of Mewat was not triggered by (the statement made by) a leader. A Gau Raksha dal moved in and two people were killed in Bhawani (earlier this year). The court is taking that case forward. This issue was triggered after that. We have made committees in districts to sit together and talk to everybody… No one expected or saw the whole scenario to be like this, where suddenly people collected to start the Shobha Yatra and then mobs from various directions walked in. Police were there, it was controlled but the incidents happened in the city area and not in the area where the yatra was about to start… From city (Nuh), the conflict shifted to other areas.”

Asked whether a video by self-proclaimed cow vigilante Monu Manesar, who was named in the murder of two Muslim men in Bhiwani in February this year, led to the situation worsening, the deputy CM said, “Being very frank, people who say they are cow vigilantes or gau rakshaks, or whatever they call themselves, a majority of them don’t have cows in their houses. This is a serious concern and we need to focus on who becomes the leader of such movements. Yes, the person you have named has been earmarked by police, he has put fuel to fire yesterday and we will take the strictest action against him as well.”

Asked whether giving permission for the yatra in the backdrop of building tensions in the area was a mistake, Chautala said, “The yatra has been happening for four years, but yes because the (police) in-charge was on leave, the officer on duty did not foresee such a situation… An enquiry is being conducted, the charge of the area has been given to SP Bhiwani, section 144 has been imposed in Gurgaon, Nuh and Palwal and we have started arresting people.”

He added that the rise in communal flare-ups in the state was worrisome. “It is for the first time that Haryana has seen something like this. We are a state with a good Muslim population, right from Yamunanagar to Nuh… Meo Muslims are an old people established there for several years. They have served with Hindu kings in the past… It is a serious concern. We have never seen a communal thought process and it has been built up over the years.”

Asked whether the Internet shutdown in such situations gave rise to more rumour mongering, especially in the context of continuing violence in Manipur, Chautala said, “Rumours can go through audio call, video, other sources also. What happened in Manipur is an issue that had arisen at various times since independence. Mewat has seen such an issue for the first time. This Shobha Yatra was not done for the first time. This is the fourth year that it has been taken out.

Some elements which wanted to create this scenario were successful. We have earmarked those people, arrests have been made. Strict action will be taken,” he said.