With the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) planning protests across Delhi on Wednesday, the local police and intelligence officials are keeping a close watch on the mobilisation of people as central agencies suspect ripple effects in the national capital of the violence in Haryana’s Nuh district. According to an official note from the VHP, a total of 23 spots have been picked where protesters will hold demonstrations against the alleged attack on Mahadev Mandir in Nuh. The number of places may increase, officials said.
The Delhi police is anticipating that the protests will not involve a large number of gatherings and will be more of a symbolic gesture, while the right-wing group is expecting widespread participation despite it being a working day.
Areas that have been earmarked for the protests include Karol Bagh, Patel Nagar, Lajpat Nagar, Mayur Vihar, Mukherjee Nagar, Narela, Moti Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Nangloi, Ambedkar Nagar, Najafgarh, etc. Some of the localities are considered “hypersensitive” by officials and a few are close to the Haryana border as well.
Authorities prepare
According to an intelligence input released on Tuesday night, all districts have been asked to mobilise extra troops, secure all religious places, and be on alert with anti-rioting gear.
As night hours are more uncertain, top district officials will have to be available at those times as inputs suggest that miscreants can try to disturb the law and order situation.
At least five people have been killed and many others, including several policemen, injured as mobs in Haryana’s Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, officials said. Two home guards were killed when their vehicle was set on fire. Internet services have been shut down and section 144 has been imposed in Nuh and Gurugram. Tensions bubbled up over the suspected presence of Monu Manesar, a notorious cow vigilante, during the VHP’s procession.
Top sources said that Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials during a meeting on Tuesday hinted that protests could turn violent in Haryana and some more incidents are likely to be reported by local authorities.
Close coordination between police from Haryana and neighbouring states has been suggested and two senior officers have been deployed to disseminate information to all concerned offices to avoid any untoward incident.
What VHP says
The Vishva Hindu Parishad is clear that the planned agitation across the national capital on Wednesday is to register a protest against the alleged attack on the Mahadev Mandir in Nuh by elements it terms “jihadis”. Jagjeet Singh Goldy, who is the regional coordinator of the Bajrang Dal and is managing Wednesday’s pan-Delhi protests, told News18, “The temple is 5,000 years old, which was envisioned by the Pandavas. That very temple is being attacked in the Mewat region and that’s unacceptable. Our demand will be to initiate immediate legal action against these perpetrators.”
Goldy went on to express his disappointment when asked whether the timing of the protests is apt. “Why are questions being asked to the Hindu society when the actual perpetrators who opened fire on Hindu religious processions are not asked a single question? I think it’s rather sad,” he said.
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal has demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a body that handles terror cases. He also asked for a deep combing operation in the area.
Bansal’s demand is not an aberration. It has the endorsement from the top echelons of the VHP. Its joint general secretary Surendra Jain has branded the attack on the Hindu religious procession that sparked off the communal flare-up as a “terror act” and also sought an NIA probe.
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