Bulldozer action in Haryana's Nuh days after clashes, shops razed

Sep 04, 2023

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By Himanshu Mishra: The Haryana administration continued 'bulldozer action' and razed down several establishments in Tauru, about 20 km from violence-hit Nuh on Saturday. The authorities confirmed that residents of these "illegal" establishments were those involved in the July 31 riots in the area.

Nuh's SDM Ashwini Kumar said the demolition drive was on the orders of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

"This is on the orders of the CM. All of this is illegal construction. These people were involved in the riots," Kumar said.

Illegal encroachment by illegal immigrants was razed in the area on Friday too. Structures and shanties near Nuh's SKM Government Medical College were demolished earlier today.

The demolition drive was carried out by the Haryana Urban Development Authority. The authorities earlier today also bulldozed illegal encroachments right in front of the hospital on the way to Nalhar temple.

The demolition drive was taken amid heavy police deployment to prevent any untoward developments.

However, no official statement has been issued by the Nuh administration regarding the bulldozer operation. According to officials present at the scene, the land occupied by illegal encroachments was under clearance and they did not draw any parallel between the demolition drive and the recently held communal tensions in the area.

Prior to this, bulldozers were deployed at four locations across Tauru on Friday.

There are about 40 shops which are illegal and are being demolished, officials said. Also, this is the location where vehicles were burnt and stone-pelting took place when communal tensions ensued in Nuh and adjoining areas on 31 July.

Meanwhile, curfew restrictions under Section 144 continue until today in Nuh with certain hours of relaxation for residents.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Friday said 202 people have been arrested so far and 80 taken into preventive detention in connection with the communal clashes in Nuh. He also said the way bullets were fired from hillocks and stones collected on rooftops of buildings indicates that Nuh's violence was pre-planned.

"I want to assure you that anyone involved in the violence won't be spared," Vij told reporters in Ambala, adding, the detainees are being questioned.

Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that erupted in Muslim-dominated Nuh when a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession was attacked by mobs on Monday.

Vij said police were recording people's statements and scanning CCTV footage.

He also urged the journalists who have been to Nuh to cover the clashes since Monday to provide videos and feeds to the authorities to help them investigate the clashes.

Earlier, Vij also said that Nuh was becoming a new Jamtara -- the Jharkhand district notorious as India's cyber crime hub. He hinted at a crackdown on cyber crimes stemming from the area by Haryana authorities.