A terrible reality is emerging amidst the calm beauty of the Aravalli hills in Nuh, Haryana: locals, some of whom are suspected rioters, have sought refuge in these rough terrains out of fear of mass arrests. On Monday, as the Braj Mandal Yatra of the Vishva Hindu Parishad passed below, the same heights turned into a vantage position for assailants.
News Agency’s Special Investigation Team set out on a difficult trek to determine who took the towering peaks to hurl bullets and stones upon the procession, with responsibility falling on both sides.
The lovely surroundings, which were drenched in the warm colours of the rising sun, lush foliage, ridges, pleasant wind, and chirping birds, were hiding a terrible story as the SIT delved further.
It was discovered that local men from the villages in the Nuh district had used these hills as a cunning cover to avoid being apprehended.
One homeowner, who had his face covered, said they had fled to the hills out of fear of being imprisoned. Because we are afraid of the cops, we are hiding in the mountains. They pick you up without even questioning if you were involved, he claimed.
He stated that alleged rioters masked themselves among the civilians looking for safety. The villager said, underlining the complex web of people looking for safety, “Those who went there (participated in the rioting) and those who did not go are also here and there.” “The entire village has vanished. The villagers have dispersed.
According to the case FIR, some people arrived from the highlands on Monday to obstruct a religious ceremony at a temple in Nuh district by carrying illegal weapons, lathis, and stones.
Videos from that day showing gunfire and stone-throwing from the heights have also surfaced, supporting the claims.
The young villager spoke to India Today while perched on a cot. “These mountains now serve as a makeshift encampment for around 500 men, who constantly monitor the movement of police vehicles from afar to evade capture,” he said.
“We can see police cars pulling up from here. Then we can cross to the opposite side. Take a look at all the cars. These ten to twelve vehicles are en route. Buses of police are conducting raids anywhere they like, he continued.
People from the village could be seen climbing the hills to escape the approaching police presence. Tarpaulin sheets were arranged casually next to the portable folding beds uphill.
Rafiq, the leader of Nuh’s Sarpanch Association, said that several young men from his hamlet participated in looting and rioting during the incidents and that they have since escaped.
There could have been seven lads only from my village. I won’t stand up for them. In the near future, I’ll give them to you,” Rafiq said.
According to the village elder, the situation is complicated because rioters are apparently travelling from Rajasthan and Ferozepur Jhirka in Haryana.
Eyewitness Irfaan reported that some rioters had arrived from both Rajasthan and the Nuh district on that tragic day. He said clashes erupted as vehicles collided, igniting the violence that ensued.
“They (men from Rajasthan) crashed their pickups into their (Yatra) vehicles at a T-point. That’s how the fighting started at that location,” Irfaan claimed.
