Haryana ADGP (Law and Order) Mamta Singh spoke to the media on Tuesday and gave further details about the investigation into the violence in the Nuh district that broke out in late July. ADGP Singh said that the statements made by Monu Manesar a day before the violence broke out do not seem provocative. She further clarified that Bittu Bajrangi from Faridabad had not been arrested in connection with the Nuh case. He had, the ADGP said, been arrested for misbehaving with police personnel.
ADGP Singh made these statements during a conversation with reporters from a television news channel. ADGP Mamta Singh said, “If you listen to the audio of Monu Manesar’s social media post before the 31 July yatra, he says, ‘I am coming, you also join the yatra’. I doubt whether merely announcing that he is coming for a visit amounts to spreading hatred.”
After the Nuh violence broke out, Monu Manesar responded to accusations of instigating violence, saying, “Someone should tell me what I have said wrong in the video that I posted. Then I will accept that I am responsible for the violence. I only asked people to join the religious pilgrimage. What is wrong with this? Our yatra has been going on for many years and I have been making this appeal every year. I also said that more and more people should participate in the yatra and perform Jalabhishek in the temple. I am also sorry for the incident, but not for the post, because there was nothing [inciting] in my post.”
Mamta Singh also clarified that Bittu Bajrangi had been arrested for obstructing the work of a government servant. Media reports have stated that Bajrangi, a Faridabad resident, was arrested for violence, but this is not the case. Bittu Bajrangi was arrested after Faridabad police registered a case in connection with an inflammatory social media post. The Nuh police arrested him because he had a scuffle with the Additional SP on the day of the procession. Some participants, including Bajrangi, were carrying swords and other weapons, despite weapons being prohibited. The Additional SP tried to stop them and confiscated their weapons when Bittu Bajrangi and the people accompanying him snatched back the weapons.
The accused then obstructed official work and quarrelled with the police. The Haryana Police has so far arrested around 500 people in connection with the violence and related offences.
ADGP Singh said 165 cases have been registered and 423 people have been arrested and 118 detained. As many as 38 cases have also been registered against those who escalated tensions at the grassroots via social media posts.
