New Delhi:
This morning, the Haryana’s Nuh district administration continued its action against “illegal” construction, razing around two dozen medical stores and other shops to the ground for the third day. They had razed shanties of immigrants living in Tauru, about 20 km away from violence-hit Nuh, for encroaching on government land on Thursday evening.
Bulldozers rolled in at Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College, Nalhar, in Nuh, amid heavy police deployment to demolish around two dozen shops, mostly pharmacies, opposite the main entrance of the hospital. These shops have been there for years.
Bulldozer action continued at different places throughout the day, with district administration teams present on the spot.
So far, the authorities have demolished 50 to 60 structures in different areas. Many have fled, fearing arrests.
Following the clashes over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, authorities have strengthened security across Nuh. Violence has spread to Gurugram over the past few days. Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, have died.
Sources said the district administration has started removing all those illegal encroachments that they could not remove for the last several years. The local MLA and deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party, Aftab Ahmed, has protested against such action.
In Nuh, not only are they demolishing the houses of the poor, but they are also destroying the faith and trust of the common people. Villagers have reported that they demolished houses and shops today, after providing a notice in the back date of one month. Government is taking wrong action to hide administrative failures, this is repressive policy,” he tweeted along with a video of the demolition.
On Friday, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij stated that they have arrested 202 people and taken 80 others into preventive detention in connection with the communal clashes.
He also said that the way bullets were fired from hillocks and individuals collected stones on rooftops of buildings indicates that the Nuh violence was pre-planned.
In all, police have so far filed 102 FIRs in the matter.
Anil Vij has alleged “a big game plan” behind the violence. However, in a press conference on Friday, the Nuh Superintendent of Police said they have so far found no indication of a mastermind behind the clashes.
Nuh Superintendent of Police Narendra Singh Bijarnia said that they have identified and arrested disparate elements involved in the investigation so far.