Tension in Haryana's Nuh after violence during religious rally, Gurugram affected

By India Today News Desk: Two home guards and a civilian were killed and 10 police officers were injured as a mob in Haryana’s Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession on Monday. Stones were thrown and cars were set on fire as clashes erupted between the two groups.

As news of the violence in Nuh spread, mobs in adjoining Gurugram district's Sohna set fire to four vehicles and a shop. Protesters also blocked a road for hours.

Here's all that happened during the day:

• The Vishwa Hindu Parishad had organised a Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra on Monday which was flagged off from Gurugram’s Civil Lines by BJP district president Gargi Kakkar. A police contingent was deployed with the yatra.
• Police said the yatra was stopped by a group of men near Nuh’s Khedla Mod and stones were thrown at the procession. Shortly afterwards, cars were also set on fire. According to reports, the clash was triggered by an objectionable video posted on social media by a Bajrang Dal activist in Ballabhgarh.
• Earlier, there were reports that the violence broke out after rumours spread of Monu Manesar joining the yatra. Manesar is a cow vigilante who was booked for the murder of two Muslim men whose charred bodies were found in Bhiwani district in February.
• However, Monu Manesar claimed that he did not participate in the yatra on the VHP's advice as the group feared that his presence would create tension, news agency PTI reported.
• In the violence that followed, several policemen were injured and two home-guards, Neeraj and Gursevak, died. The rest of the injured cops were taken to Gurugram’s Medanta Hospital. Among the injured, Hodal Deputy Superintendent of Police Sajjan Singh was shot in the head while an inspector suffered bullet injury to his stomach.
• Shortly afterwards, the violence in Nuh spread to Sohna. Incidents of stone throwing, sloganeering, and arson were reported during the violent protest in Gurugram.
• In the wake of the violent incidents, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were imposed in Gurugram and Nuh.
• Mobile internet services have been suspended in Nuh district till Wednesday, August 2, to contain the "intense communal tension", said the Haryana government.
• Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said that the state government dispatched additional forces to Nuh from neighbouring districts. He added that they are trying to send forces using helicopters.
• Anil Vij said about 2,500 men, women and children who had taken shelter at a Shiv temple in Nuh were evacuated by police.
• Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar appealed for peace, adding that the citizens should follow the principle of "Haryana Ek Haryanvi Ek” (Haryanvis are one).
  
  "The guilty will not be spared at any cost, strictest action will be taken against them," the chief minister said on Monday.