Muslims Scared in Gurugram after attacks on mosques

Sector 57 in Gurugram is empty except for the Anjuman Jama mosque. Ten police officers are stationed in front of the concrete building, which once held up to 450 worshippers but is now covered in trash and ashes.

The mosque, one of the few Muslim houses of worship in Gurugram, a largely Hindu neighbourhood of India’s capital, New Delhi, was purportedly attacked on the evening of July 31 by a Hindu far-right mob.

Mohammad Saad, a 22-year-old naib (deputy) imam, was inside the mosque when it was set on fire by the attackers, who also killed him. The attack happened hours after a deadly racial riot broke out in the nearby Nuh district of Haryana state.

“This attack was revenge for Nuh,” the 32-year-old, who has lived in the area since 2011.

When a Hindu religious parade in Nuh that was planned by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, two Hindu far-right organisations allied with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), turned violent, at least four people were killed, including two police officers.

Stones were hurled at the march after some Muslim men stopped the religious procession, according to media accounts and locals of Nuh.

In response to the turmoil, authorities in Haryana have sent in more troops, enacted a curfew, and shut down the internet. Residents in Gurugram and neighbouring towns like Sohna reported that despite the precautions, Hindu mobs continued to damage Muslim-owned businesses, residences, and places of worship.

Speaking about the violence on Tuesday, Gurugram Police Commissioner Kala Ramachandran told that “some kiosks were damaged in arson”.

“Prima facie [On the first impression] the men we rounded up were not linked to any particular group. However, an investigation is still under way,” she said.

In Gurugram, which has earned the nickname “millennium city” for drawing in international organisations and housing upscale retail malls, offices of companies like Google and Deloitte are situated only a few kilometres from the scenes of the violence.

An international summit of the Group of 20 (G20) is scheduled to take place in New Delhi one month from the day of the disturbance in Haryana. The violence that occurred the day after a railway security guard killed three Muslim passengers, one of his coworkers, and the guard, is being viewed by many as a hate crime. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not commented on the incident.

Haryana state Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said a total of 116 people had been arrested in connection to the violence there.

“The conspirators [behind the clashes in Nuh] are being continuously identified,” he told reporters.

Khattar, who is from Modi’s BJP, did not comment on the imam’s killing. “Those found guilty will not be spared. We are committed to the safety of the public,” he said.

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