Shobha Yatra: Symbolic curfew in Nuh, residents choose to remain indoors

Gurugram, Aug 28 (IANS) A virtual shutdown was witnessed in Haryana's Nuh district amid the presence of a heavy layer of security ahead of the 'Shobha Yatra' called by the VHP, even as the administration did not impose a curfew.

Following the arrest of over 250 people after the July 31 violence and demolition of houses after the clashes during a similar Shobha Yatra, the locals decided to shut themselves in their houses.

Each and every lane and market in Nuh was closed. Police, however, said they had appealed to people to keep their shops and establishments shut in view of the Shobha Yatra.

"We have no connection with the July 31 riots. Still, we have lost our houses and shops. We are targeted. So in view of the Shobha Yatra on August 28, we decided to remain indoors so that no one can blame us," Hamid Khan, a resident of Nalhad village, said.

In Ghasera village, a group of men sitting outside a tea shop discussing Shobha Yatra said: "We are noting car numbers and names of strangers passing by. We can not bear another clash.

"Our brothers' houses have been demolished without any reason. We are in touch with the local administration and decided not to venture out," Mahmood Khan, a resident of the village, said.

"The local administration, without any notice, have razed our shops and houses. I had papers for some while one was disputed and the matter was in court. We are still living in fear of what could happen if outsiders gain entry. They can do anything to disrupt harmony in the district. They will run away while we pay the price," one Imran Hussain said.

People of Nuh blamed "outsider Muslims from Rajasthan and some anti-social elements among the Hindu devotees" for the clashes.

"A number of youth from Ghatmika village (village of two Muslim men who were killed by cow vigilantes in Bhiwani) in Rajasthan reached here two days ahead of the clashes. They came here with all preparations to spread the violence. We offered shelter to Hindus also during the riots, but later, the police targeted us. They arrested youths from Nalhad even though they were not involved," Imran Ahmad, a local resident, said.

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