Violence erupts in Gurugram’s Badshahpur: 14 Shops Vandalised, 7 Set Ablaze; Alert Issued in 11 West UP Districts

Fresh violence erupted in Gurugram’s Badshahpur on Tuesday, a day after communal clashes broke out in Haryana’s Nuh. Fourteen shops were vandalised in the main market as nearly 200 men on motorbikes and SUVs targeted outlets, mostly selling biryani, and other food stalls. In Sector 66, seven stores were set ablaze.

The mob ransacked shops belonging to a particular community and chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’ in front of a mosque in Badshahpur, news agency PTI reported. The Badshahpur market was also shut down, police told PTI.

On Monday, a mob of roughly 45 people fired at a mosque in Gurugram’s sector 57 and later set it on fire. Police said that at least one person died in the incident and three were injured, with one of them said to be critical.

Gurugram deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav on Tuesday told news agency PTI that the situation is ‘peaceful’. “Law and order is normal. There were some spill-over impact in Sohna of whatever happened in Nuh yesterday, however, situation was brought under control by evening. We have conducted flag march as well…in Gurugram one death reported in Sector 57 mosque, 5 vehicles were torched in Sohna and 2-3 shops have been vandalised,” he said.

The Haryana government on Monday imposed Section 144 CrPC in Gurugram and Nuh. Late on Monday night, it also ordered all educational institutions in Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal to remain shut on Tuesday in lieu of the violence.

Clashes had broken out in Nuh on Monday afternoon after a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession passing through the district was attacked. The attack left at least two home guards dead and dozens injured, including policemen.

Chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, after chairing a high-level meeting to discuss the prevailing situation, said on Tuesday that there seems to be a larger conspiracy at play to disturb the law-and-order situation in the state.

Meanwhile, The UP Police intensified vigil and issued an alert in 11 districts of western UP in wake of communal violence in Haryana’s Nuh district that claimed four lives and left several injured in the past three days, said officials here on Tuesday.

The alert was mainly issued for Mathura as Kosi Kalan and Barsana towns in this district share the border with Nuh. Other districts where alert was issued included Agra, Firozabad, Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Hapur, Aligarh, Shamli and Gautam Buddh Nagar, said a senior police officer.

Special D-G (law and order) Prashant Kumar said the state police was already on alert during the ongoing Saawan month while vigil had been upped in sensitive districts in wake of Haryana violence, he said. Seven districts, including Saharanpur, Shamli, Baghpat, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Aligarh and Mathura share borders with Haryana.

ADG (Agra zone) Rajeev Krishna said mainly Mathura and Aligarh were sensitive due to the ongoing 84 Kosi Parikrama, the 297-km religious tour that also includes some areas of Haryana’s Mewat district.

“We are coordinating with Haryana police to ensure security has been intensified along the route,” he emphasized.

IG (Agra range) Deepak Kumar said the security had been intensified at Kotwan border in Mathura and traffic diversions were in place from that point. He said vehicles heading towards Kotwan border were diverted towards Delhi through different routes. Similarly, vigilance was upped in Firozabad and patrolling had been directed in sensitive areas.