India: Nuh clashes - No Friday namaz in the open or mosques in Haryana; Delhi, UP on alert

In the wake of the communal flare-up in Nuh district of Haryana, authorities in the north Indian state have asked Muslims to offer Friday namaz prayers at their homes to avoid any untoward incident on August 4.

In the Gurugram district, police issued an advisory asking Muslims to avoid going to open spaces or mosques to offer prayers.

Certain areas in the state are reeling under communal violence since clashes broke out in Nuh on Monday (July 31). Since then, the violence has spilled over into adjoining areas. So far, six people, including two police staff, have lost their lives.

Haryana administration also removed the Superintendent of Police from Nuh, Varun Singla, and transferred him to the Bhiwani district. He was replaced by IPS Narendra Bijarniya, as reported by ANI.

Section 144 still in place

CrPC Section 144, which prohibits assembly of four or more people, was still in place in some areas, The Hindu newspaper reported citing a senior police official from Gurugram.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Gurugram) Siddhant Jain said, “We are constantly combing through social media for any inflammatory messages and have also asked people to avoid sharing any such content if they come across anything.”

Jain added that two companies of the central forces have been deployed in Gurugram. “Heavy deployment of local police is also in place,” he added.

Muslim clerics cooperating with authorities

Earlier on Thursday, a meeting was held between senior police officials from the Nuh district and leaders of the Muslim community.

Nuh Deputy Commissioner Prashant Panwar and Superintendent of Police Varun Singla sought cooperation from them to encourage their community members to not step out of their homes on Friday.

Watch:Haryana violence: Police probe social media content that could have cause violence

Meanwhile, the Gurugram Imam Sangathan has urged their community members to comply with the orders issued by the authorities.

“Prayers will not take place inside mosques or at open spaces. Only those who stay at mosques will be allowed to offer prayers there,” the organisation said in a statement.

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh on high alert

Some areas in adjoining states of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi were put on high alert on Friday. Although there are no restrictions on offering namaz in mosques in these states, police deployment has been beefed up to maintain law and order.

“We always have police presence near mosques and in sensitive areas on Fridays. We will strengthen our arrangements around 273 mosques in the district to ensure that no incident during or after the prayers takes place, and that everybody reaches home safely,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (North East) Joy Tirkey was quoted as saying by the Hindu.

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