Nuh: Bulldozers raze 150 shanties, 5 houses in Nuh in 24 hours over ‘riot links’ | Gurgaon News – Times of India

NUH: Around 150 migrant families saw their shanties razed on Thursday as the government sent bulldozers to a slum cluster in Tauru, with officials claiming some of its residents were found to be involved in rioting in the communal clashes of July 31.

Bulldozers also tore down five houses near a temple in Nalhar on Friday afternoon, located in the area that was the epicentre of the July 31 clash during a religious procession.

Police claimed 14 youngsters from this settlement were involved in stone-pelting.At a press conference in Chandigarh during the day, PTI quoted state home minister Anil Vij as saying no one involved in the clashes would be spared, while also remarking, “Ilaj mein bulldozer bhi ek karavayi hai (bulldozer is part of the treatment).”
When the bulldozers arrived at the slum cluster, encroachment of land that belongs to the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) was cited as the reason for the demolition drive.

The families in the Tauru slum said the demolitions began around 3pm on Thursday. Some of them said they had been staying there for as long as 10 years without being served any notice. Some of them showed their Aadhaar and PAN cards as proof of their nationality – many in the slum cluster have come from West Bengal and Assam – after some branded them as Bangladeshis illegally living in India and a section of the media also reported the same.
“We are being tortured just because we are from the minority community. Why would we be involved in pelting stones or spreading hate through videos? We are just ragpickers,” said Gulzar Alam.
He rummaged through a heap of items lying next to him to fish out his Aadhaar and PAN cards, saying he was from Assam. “I have been living here with my family for four years,” Alam said. Another resident Hasan Ali said: “We are left with nothing – no food and no roof to sleep under in the rainy season.”

Nooral Khan, who also lives there, added, “Families from here go to Assam or West Bengal to cast votes. But the recent conditions in Nuh are scary. We feel that we can be targeted anytime.”
Nuh SP Narendra Singh Bijarniya, addressing a press conference with deputy commissioner Prashant Panwar on Friday, said some youngsters from the Tauru settlement were arrested for being involved in rioting. “First, the entire area was encroached on and miscreants came from that side. We have proper inputs from CCTV footage, and our sources and CID inputs confirmed to us that many youths of this area in Tauru were involved in stone-pelting. We have arrested some from here as well,” the SP said.

In case of the Nalhar demolition, police said the land belonged to the forest department.
“The residents have been served notices earlier, but they did not respond. We also came to know that some stone-pelters used this house as their hideouts and pelted stones from here on the worshippers,” said Nuh police spokesperson Krishan Kumar.
FIRs have been registered against 14 accused, who are absconding, under relevant sections of the IPC and Arms Act, Kumar said. Till Friday, Nuh police had registered 65 FIRs and arrested 141 people in connection with the July 31 communal violence, which erupted in Nuh and precipitated a series of attacks in Gurgaon, Palwal and Faridabad.

“The process of detention of more people is ongoing. Different teams of Nuh police and SIT are investigating the entire matter properly. We are taking out flag marches every day to maintain law and order. No fresh violence has been reported from any part of the district,” Kumar said.
Panwar said the administration is planning to resume internet services in Nuh as “normalcy is returning”. He warned that strict action will be taken against those found spreading rumours or inciting hatred.