Gurugram: Five people were killed and at least 70 others, including several policemen, were injured as a mob in Haryana's Nuh district tried to stop a religious procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said. Security around religious places has been strengthened. Both the police and administration held meetings with prominent members of both communities to ensure peace, police said.
Police have registered about 40 cases and arrested more than 80 people in connection with the violence. The ripples from violence has reached Badshahpur, 40 km away. Restaurants, and shops were torched by a mob amid religious chants. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said the situation in Nuh, which saw clashes between two groups on Monday, was under control, adding that unidentified miscreants likely engineered and masterminded the violence.
"Internet services have been suspended in Nuh district and curfew has been imposed. Adequate police deployments have been made at the scene as well," he said. The Additional Director General of Police Mamta Singh said that Nuh was the main affected area and no major incident has happened outside Nuh. "We have arrested a large number of people. We have appealed to everyone to come forward if they have any information that can help us in the investigation or identify the rioters," ADGP Singh said.
About 2,500 people, who had come to Nuh to take part in the procession, were stranded at a temple due to the violence outside. They were rescued by police later in the evening. A mob attacked a mosque in Gurgaram and killed one person, and injured several others on late Monday night, police said. A mosque, Anjuman Jama Masjid in Sector 57, was also set on fire. Fire control trucks were rushed to the spot, and brought the fire under control.