Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Wednesday sought four additional companies of central forces following communal clashes in the state and said a battalion of the India Reserve Battalion will also be deployed in Nuh.
Twenty companies of central forces are already deployed in Haryana — 14 in Nuh, three in Palwal, two in Gurugram and one in Faridabad.
Asked about his deputy Dushyant Chautala saying the organisers of the religious procession that was attacked did not give a proper estimation of the expected turnout, Khattar said at a press conference that it was not like that.
Six people, including two home guards and a cleric, have died in the clashes that erupted in Nuh over an attempt to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession and spread to Gurugram over the past two days.
As he appealed for peace, the chief minister asserted that those found responsible for the clashes will not be spared.
Khattar said 116 people have been arrested and 90 detained since Monday’s clashes in Nuh.
Anyone found responsible for the violence will not be spared, he said.
Khattar said cow protection is a big issue in Nuh and added, “(Cow) smuggling and cow killings take place there.”
The state police’s enforcement bureau will be roped in for cow protection with 100 jawans deputed for the purpose.
He also appealed to youths from the Muslim community to come forward for cow protection. “There are many Muslims who speak and work for cow protection,” Khattar said.
Replying to a question on the damage to properties, the chief minister said whoever caused damage to government or private properties will be liable to pay compensation and added that Haryana has already enacted a law in this regard.
Asked about Monu Manesar, Khattar said he was booked by the Rajasthan Police and added that his government will provide any assistance they require to nab him.
Manesar, a cow vigilante, was booked by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the murder of two Muslim men whose charred bodies were found in Haryana’s Bhiwani district in February.
“The Rajasthan Police was looking for him. We do not have any input where he is now. The Rajasthan Police is free to act against him,” he stated.
A video of Manesar saying that he would join the procession in Nuh was widely circulated on social media.
Khattar said the police are examining mobile dump data and analysing CCTV footage to identify those involved in the violence.
The guilty will not be spared, he said.
Khattar was also asked about the remarks from Chautala, who told reporters in Delhi, “… The organisers of the yatra had not given proper estimation to the district administration about the crowd participating in the event. Lack of this information somewhere or the other appears to have led to the incident.”
In response, Khattar said, “When information of the yatra was received, the deputy commissioner held meetings with both sides a day before and the administration was assured that the event would take place in a peaceful manner. But suddenly, the events that took place and the incident are now being investigated.”
PTI