Heavy security is in place in Haryana’s Nuh, the place where communal violence broke out weeks ago, ahead of a shobha yatra called by a Hindu outfit today, despite the authorities denying permission for the procession.
On August 13, the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat gave a call to resume the Brij Mandal Shobha Yatra in Nuh on August 28, which is the last Monday of the holy month of Shravan.
The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has said the procession will be taken out and asserted that there was no need to obtain permission for such religious events. However, the authorities refused to give a green signal for the yatra.
Updates on Shobha yatra
1. Security has been beefed up in Nuh district and other areas and outsiders will be barred from entering Nuh. According to a police spokesperson in Nuh, 1,900 Haryana Police personnel and 24 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed.
2. The Haryana government has deployed police and paramilitary forces to keep a strict vigil. Banks and schools will remain shut in Nuh on Monday in view of VHP’s Shobha Yatra.
3. The Board of School Education, Haryana has announced the postponement of the diploma in elementary education exam in Nuh. The exam, which was to take place on Monday, will now be held on September 4.
4. Mobile Internet and bulk SMS services have been suspended in Nuh district, Haryana. Haryana government has also imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, preventing the assembly of four or more people in an area.
5. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has not granted permission for the yatra. On Sunday, Khattar asked devotees to offer prayers at temples in their neighbourhood instead of holding any ‘yatra’. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said the police are fully alert.
6. Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) National Joint General Secretary Dr Surendra Jain said that no permission is required from the state government to take out a religious rally
7. On 17 August, cow vigilante Bittu Bajrangi was sent to 14-day judicial custody in connection with communal clashes that erupted in the district on July 31.
8. On 31 July, sectarian riots broke out in Nuh district in Haryana when mobs hurled stones at a Hindu religious procession and set cars alight. Arson and vandalism attacks broke out the following evening in parts of nearby Gurugram.
Anti-riot vehicles and drones deployed
Heavy security arrangements are in place in Nuh and in adjoining areas, with anti-riot vehicles and drones deployed in view of the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat’s call for a shobha yatra, officials said. Authorities have denied permission for the yatra.
As a precautionary measure, the Nuh district administration has already ordered the closure of educational institutions and banks on 28 August, suspended mobile internet and bulk SMS services, and imposed prohibitory orders in the communally sensitive district. Outsiders have been barred from entering Nuh with security personnel being deployed at all the entry points of the district.
