Mosque set on fire in Haryana's Nuh, brothers beaten up in Gurugram

A mosque was set on fire and a short circuit apparently triggered a blaze in another in Haryana's Nuh district, while two brothers belonging to Muslim community were allegedly beaten up in Gurugram by a group of about 30 people, the police said on Thursday.

No one was injured in the mosque incidents that took place around 11.30 pm on Wednesday, they said.

While one of the mosques is located near Vijay Chowk, the other is near a police station. Both mosques suffered some damage.

Superintendent of police (Nuh) Varun Singla said, "Light arson has been done in one mosque while short circuit seems to be the reason for the fire in the other. The police took control of the situation and are conducting raids to nab the suspects."

Soon after getting the information, fire brigade vehicles were rushed to the two mosques and the blaze was doused, the police said.

A senior police officer said they are trying to identify the accused with the help of CCTV cameras installed in nearby areas.

Earlier, the police had said that Molotov cocktails were hurled at the two mosques.

In neighbouring Gurugram, two men identified as Nisar Ali and his brother Rustam Ali, were allegedly beaten up on Wednesday evening by a group of about 30 people, the police said.

The victims, natives of Malda district in West Bengal, are living in a slum in Palda village in Gurugram.

According to a complaint by Nisar Ali, a group of about 25 to 30 youths came to the slum on Tuesday and told the dwellers to leave the city by Wednesday.

”On Wednesday at around 7 pm, I, with my brother Rustam Ali, was going to the slum from Sector 70. On the way near the cricket ground, four-five youths came and asked my name and after that they started beating both of us. Soon, over 25 youths joined them and thrashed us badly. They also made derogatory comments about my religion. They fled away when some people gathered there,” Nisar Ali said in his complaint.

Following the complaint, an FIR was registered against unidentified youths under sections 147 (riots), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (causing hurt), 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC at Badshahpur police station on Wednesday night.

”An FIR has been registered and we are trying to nab the accused,” said Satish Kumar, SHO of Badshahpur police station.

Curfew, meanwhile, was relaxed in Nuh on Thursday.

"People can buy daily essentials from 10 am to 1 pm," said Prashant Panwar, deputy commissioner of Nuh.

Curfew was clamped in Nuh after communal violence erupted on Monday following a mob tried to stop a Vishwa Hindu Parishad procession. Prohibitory orders have been clamped in Palwal.

Mobs killed a cleric, torched an eatery and vandalised shops as communal violence that began in Nuh spilled over into neighbouring Gurugram on Tuesday.

Six people have died so far in the violence, 176 people have been arrested and 78 detained, according to the Haryana government.