KARACHI: At least five people have been killed and at least 70 others, including several policemen, are hurt following violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims in the Indian state of Haryana.

Following the violence, a curfew has been imposed and internet services suspended in the Muslim-majority area of Nuh, 50km south of the Indian capital of New Delhi. A ban on assembly of people has been imposed while schools and colleges have been closed as well.

The violence reportedly flared after a crowd in Nuh tried to stop a Bajrang Dal-Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, The Wire reported.

After a day of violence in Nuh, a mob burnt down the Anjuman Jama mosque, located in Sector 57 in Gurugram, previously known as Gurgaon.

Mob sets fire to mosque in Gurugram after Hindu procession disrupted in Nuh

Although officials met the representatives of Hindu and Muslim communities on Tuesday to appeal for calm, mobs roamed the streets, setting fire to scrap shops and vandalising small eateries, most of which belonged to Muslims, Reuters reported.

A 19-year-old naib imam (pra­yer leader), Saad, was also killed, while one other person was injured, according to Al Jazeera.

Gurugram Deputy Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav told Reuters that five people involved in the incident had been rounded up and others were being identified.

Mohammad Aslam, a member of the mosque committee, told Scroll.in that the assailants arrived around midnight carrying guns, swords and sticks.

According to Scroll.in, the violence on Monday erupted as Hindu devotees clashed with Muslims after the procession was stopped near the Khedla Mod area in Nuh. Stones were thrown at the procession and members of the Muslim community burnt several vehicles, according to a senior police official.

Officials from the local administration in Nuh said they were investigating the cause of the standoff that sparked the initial violence.

“The procession was meant to move from one temple to another but clashes broke out between two groups on the way, which resulted in the death of four people,” Krishan Kumar, spokesperson of Nuh police, told Reuters.

He said two of the dead were members of the home guard, a voluntary force that helps police control civil disturbances.

Some residents have claimed that the clash may have been triggered by an objectionable video posted on social media by an activist of Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad.

Security around religious places was strengthened after the incident. Both the police and administration held meetings with prominent members of Hindu and Muslim communities to ensure peace, NDTV quoted police as saying.

Police in BJP-ruled Haryana have registered about 40 cases and arrested more than 80 people in connection with the communal violence.

According to Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, the situation in Nuh was under control, adding that unidentified “miscreants likely engineered and masterminded the violence”.

“Internet services have been suspended in Nuh district and a curfew has been imposed. Adequate police deployments have been made at the scene as well,” he said.

Our correspondent in New Delhi also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2023