Haryana violence: Police indicate large scale use of local guns by rioters

Of the five people who were killed during the communal violence in Nuh, Sohna, and Gurugram in Haryana on Monday and Tuesday, at least four, including the two home guards, died due to bullet injuries, according to the Nuh police.

Over 60 people were injured in the clashes with at least a dozen being shot, said senior Haryana Police officers, adding that they believe that around 500 country-made pistols and revolvers were procured from local gunrunners to be used during the clashes.

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Thousands of empty soft drink bottles kept in crates and improvised petrol bombs apart from stones, iron rods, and wooden sticks were found on the roofs of houses around the areas that saw the most violence, suggesting that the clashes were not spontaneous “but meticulously planned” as a part of a “larger conspiracy”, the officers said.

To be sure, the fact that the police were unable to gather intelligence despite this magnitude of mobilisation of people and arms, reflects poorly on them.

The police officers cited above added that cartridges were also found at the mosque in Gurugram Sector 57 that was set ablaze late on Monday night after a Hindu mob allegedly assaulted people inside , killing the deputy imam and injuring at least three others, one of them critically.

The planning and mobilisation, HT’s reporting showed, was a direct result of the annual procession supported by Hindu groups passing through the area at a time when relations between Hindus and Muslims in the entire Mewat region, of which Nuh is a part, being strained over the lynching of two Muslim cattle traders in February. It has been a sore point among Muslims that the police have been unable , or unwilling to arrest Monu Manesar, a cow vigilante allegedly involved in that incident. Ahead of the procession, Manesar posted videos claiming he would be part of the procession in what appears to be a sort of a dare. That the police and the administration chose to not react to any of this is surprising.

HT’s reporting also shows that both sides appear to have been prepared for trouble, although Manesar did not eventually show up.

According to some residents of Nuh, the guns were procured from gunrunners active in the Mewat region of Haryana apart from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

“They were told that the firearms would be returned to them after use. The guns and cartridges were kept on the terraces of the houses in Nuh from where shots were fired. The intent was not to kill anyone but to scare them and disperse the crowd. The preparation was going on for the past 10 days. The guns would be returned to the gunrunners who will sell them to different buyers as quickly as possible to ensure the police do not recover them,” said one resident.

There also seems to have been a division of responsibilities.

“As many as 50 groups of volunteers were created and every group was given specific tasks in terms of arranging arms and ammunition, preparing petrol bombs, collecting stones, empty cold drink bottles, iron rods, and sticks. The petrol bombs were prepared two days in advance. The group I was part of was tasked to store petrol bombs, firearms, and stones on the rooftops in Nuh,” said a second person, a resident of Punhana.

A third person, from Nalhar said that his group was near the hills of Nalhar around the temple where hundreds of Hindus, police, and media persons took shelter during the clashes. “The members of our group pelted stones and fired several rounds from the hills where we had gathered .”

Meanwhile, some Hindus from Nuh said that a few people participating in the religious procession were also equipped with firearms, swords, and sticks.

“Many people like me were taken aback when we saw some participants carrying weapons. Such weapons were also found in the vehicles they had arrived in. It seems that they had come prepared. Either they had anticipated a backlash from the Muslim groups, or their intention was to disturb law and order,” said Mukesh Saini from Sirhual village.

As of Tuesday evening, 45 FIRs have been registered in connection with the communal clashes in which even police officers, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) and an inspector, suffered bullet injuries, said a senior police officer, adding that over 100 people involved in the clashes were identified till Tuesday evening.

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“Our initial probe and intelligence gathered from various sources revealed that the preparation for the confrontation began on July 20 soon after the first video of Monu Manesar, an accused in the abduction and killing of two Muslim cattle traders in Rajasthan’s Bhiwani on February 16, surfaced on social media. He purportedly asked people in the video to participate in the procession by Hindus in Nuh on July 31. As per our intelligence reports, over 500 country-made pistols and revolvers with cartridges were arranged. The Hindu groups were also armed with firearms, swords, and other weapons during the procession,” said the officer, requesting anonymity.

Another police officer said that the investigating teams were trying to identify the key conspirators instrumental in mobilising people, arranging logistics, and the supply of arms, ammunition, and petrol bombs. The officer said that hundreds of litres of petrol were also arranged and used to set private and police vehicles on fire in Nuh, Sohna Chowk, Badkali Chown, and Nalhar.

“The teams are making efforts to identify the places where petrol bombs were prepared. As far as the source of country-made firearms is concerned, we are of the view that they were assembled locally in Mewat,” the second officer said.

The police say the registration number plates of most of the vehicles that were found around the clash spots at Nuh were blackened using paint or grease to avoid identification.