Never seen such mayhem since 1992, claim Nuh residents

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Nuh violence which saw six people killed and many shops gutted, say the region has not seen communal clashes at such a big scale since 1992, with each party attributing the flare-up to either Hindu rights group or local Muslim leaders. The Vishva Hindu Parishad which organised the rally which forms the kernel of the confrontation claims the ruckus was doing of some «anti-national people», who disrupted the procession. A senior member of the Hindu right-wing group alleged local Muslim leaders provoked people to create unrest.

Srikishan, a local resident, on the other hand, attributed the triggering of violence to administrative negligence and claimed there were very few policemen to begin with to manage the procession. «Those who participated in the religious procession made provocative speeches hours before the clashes took place. There were few policemen at the spot.

The administration and police swung into action much later, by the time violence had already started,» Srikishan said. «I am 65 years old and I haven't seen such violence after 1992,» he added. Refuting the allegations, VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal claimed the strife was caused at the instigation of local Muslim leaders.

«This issue is not a Hindu-Muslim issue. Some anti-national people with criminal mindsets, who want to harm our community created unrest. Society was united earlier and it will remain united.

The local politicians should also be held accountable, for they provoked the people to indulge in clashes,» Bansal told PTI. 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. The violence subsequently spread to