Arson & attacks keep city on the edge

Gurgaon: Stray arson attacks, incidents of vandalism and threats made by mobs running loose kept security forces on their toes across the city on Tuesday, a day after prohibitory orders were issued to contain violence spreading since Monday afternoon after a communal clash in Nuh. The district administration suspended internet services in Sohna, Manesar and Pataudi till further orders, and issued another directive, asking all schools in Sohna subdivision to remain closed for physical classes till August 2. Many office-goers worked from home. Peace meetings were held in Sohna, where a mob had gone on a rampage on Monday in retaliation against the attack on participants of a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP)-organised yatra in Nuh. On Tuesday, around 20 miscreants allegedly thrashed a 32-year-old housekeeping staff of a particular community at a gated society in Sector 70A around 11am. They told him to “go back, and never return”, giving him a deadline of the day’s end, he said.In the afternoon, a mob of around 50 miscreants – armed with iron rods, hockey sticks and flags -- gathered near Vatika Chowk. They marched towards Badshapur on Sohna Road, chanting slogans. The group vandalised at least 14 shops located on the left side of the road, including a meat shop, a car parts shop and juice shops. Items inside the shops were strewn on the roads, and their sign-boards and furniture were smashed into pieces. A resident of Badshapur sobbed as the mob left behind a trail of destruction.“Sab apne hain, lagte nahin hain ab… People who have been attacked are our neighbours. We have lived together as families despite our religious diversity. At the same time, people who are here to attack are also our own – but are they? We have seen these kids grow up in front of our eyes,” she said.The rioters then moved on towards Sector 67 in Badshapur, where a few more miscreants on motorcycles and cars joined them. Here, they set ablaze a scrap dealer’s shop and a dhaba.Locals said the owner of the dhaba, a resident of Nuh, fled on Monday after he got to know about communal strife in his home district. The man who traded in scrap cried near his shop that had gone up in flames. Refusing to speak, he silently gathered what he could – a sofa now charred in half and car parts in his arms. “Their eyes were on fire, but they were laughing,” said a local standing nearby. In Sector 66, an elderly man’s shop, where he sold blankets and pillows, was burnt down. Collecting the remains with one hand and wiping his tears from the other, he said, “I don’t own anything. This was the only source of income for my family. I have nowhere to go…I did nothing wrong. Nobody did anything wrong. But we did lose as humans.” Police said they eventually managed to disperse the rioters. In Sadar Bazar, a few men tried to get some shops to shut, but cops stepped in just in time. Another attempt was made to block passage on the normally bustling Rajiv Chowk on NH-8, but a police van parked there averted the assembly.Slum dwellings in Sector 70, where many domestic staffers and migrant workers of a particular community lived, were also targeted by 20-25 men on Tuesday. Apart from de-escalating tensions, provocative videos and posts spreading rumours circulated online through the day, prompting police and the district administration to issue clarifications multiple times on Tuesday. Deputy commissioner Nishant Yadav said officials and cops are keeping an eye on social media to stop any content that could incite violence or trigger panic. “We have come across some videos in which people are making an appeal to assemble in response to the Nuh incident. All these people are being identified and appropriate action will be taken,” Yadav said.Yadav also said sporadic incidents were reported, but cops intervened and the situation in the city was under control.“The has been no deployment of additional force in the city till now. Police and administration are on high alert, and as soon as there is any report of trouble, teams rush to the spot and act against troublemakers,” he said.
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