Death toll in Haryana communal violence rises to 6; vandalism, arson reported in Gurugram

The death toll in the communal violence in Haryana rose to six on Wednesday with the Vishva Hindu Parishad reporting the death of an injured Bajrang Dal activist while many shops and godown were torched in Gurugram which remained on the edge following clashes in Gurugram and Nuh.

According to the police, vandalism and arson were reported in at least five areas in Gurugram on Tuesday last night.

A fire broke out at a godown and an adjoining puncture shop in sector 70A around 9:30 pm on Tuesday. Two fire tenders were pressed into service and the blaze was controlled within half an hour, the police said, adding that around 1 am, three godowns near Teekli village were torched.

Two meat shops were vandalised in the Badshahpur area while a godown in Palam Vihar was also set on fire. Slums near Nakhdola village were also attacked by a group of youths, a senior police officer said.

He said that some people tried to set a puncture shop on fire near Maruti Kunj in the Bhondsi area but they fled after seeing a police team in the area.

Meanwhile, District Vice-President of Vishva Hindu Parishad Surendra Tanwar said during the violence in Nuh on Monday, Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Sharma was attacked by the rioters and critically injured.

He was initially admitted to a hospital in Gurugram and later taken to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where he died, the VHP district vice-president said.

Police have confirmed the death of 32-year-old Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Sharma.

Haryana DGP P K PK Agrawal and ADGP CID reached Gurugram around noon to assess the situation there.

Meanwhile, a mahapanchayat has been called in Manesar over the Nuh violence.

On Tuesday, mobs killed a cleric in a late-night attack on a mosque, torched an eatery and vandalised shops as communal violence that began in Haryana’s Nuh spilled over into neighbouring Gurugram.

People also blocked a road and downed shutters over the attack on a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession in Nuh a day earlier, and a 'panchayat' targeted Muslims.