Gurugram: A Hindu mahapanchayat originally scheduled to be held in Nuh will now be held in Palwal after the police denied permission for the event in the riot-affected district, sources said.
Nuh SP Narender Bijarnia said that permission for the mahapanchayat was sought by Hindu groups in Nuh but the same was denied due to security reasons. “The situation in Nuh is peaceful now," he said.
Kulbhushan Bhardwaj, a member of Bajrang Dal, told IANS that the Hindu mahapanchayat would be organised in Palwal district on Sunday under the supervision of Arun Jaildar, a senior VHP leader.
"In the mahapanchayat, the resumption of the Brajmandal Jalabjishek Yatra which was left unfinished due to the Nuh clashes will be discussed. The mahapanchayat is being organised to boost the confidence of the outfit members," Bhardwaj said.
Brajmandal Jalabjishek Yatra organised by the Vishva Hindu Prashid was stopped by mobsters on July 31 in Nuh which left six people dead and 88 injured during riots.
Palwal SP, Lokender Singh, however, said no permission was given yet.
"Yes, permission was sought for mahapanchayat but we did not give any permission yet. We are collecting some inputs and only after looking at the situation, we will decide," the SP said.
The Haryana government has been on a demolition drive in the Nuh district following the communal violence in the region in which six people were killed and 88 injured.
A total of 188 people have been arrested and 57 FIRs have been registered in Nuh so far in connection with July 31 violence. Combing exercises have been conducted in 20 villages such as Mewli, Shikarpur, Jalalpur and Singar.
The properties demolished mostly belonged to Muslims and the number of structures razed would likely have been higher if the Punjab & Haryana High Court had not intervened on August 7.
The court asked the state if it was indulging in “ethnic cleansing”, given the unilateral nature of the demolitions before staying them.
With inputs from agencies