15 seers, right-wing group leaders pray at Nalhar temple

NUH: The Nuh administration on Monday allowed 15 seers and leaders of right-wing groups to offer prayers at the Shiv temple in Nalhar area of this district in Haryana which has been turned into a fortress in view of the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat's call for a 'shobha yatra'.

Authorities have denied permission for the yatra on Monday in the aftermath of the communal clashes on July 31. However, the locals have been allowed to offer prayers in the temples in their neighbourhood on the last Monday of the holy month of Shravan.

Heavy security arrangements have been put in place in view of the call for the yatra and some seers heading towards Nuh were stopped at Gurugram, police officials said.

Five major checkpoints have been set up from the Delhi-Gurugram border until Nuh with media vehicles not being allowed to go beyond the third checkpoint.

According to officials, the vehicle of Hindu seer Jagatguru Paramhans Acharya from Ayodhya was stopped at the Ghamorj toll plaza near Sohna.

Acharya told reporters that he and his followers were carrying the water of the Saryu river and the soil of Ayodhya for the 'jalabhishek' at Nalhar temple but were stopped by the police. In protest, he sat on a hunger strike near the toll plaza.

Nuh Deputy Commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata said around 15 seers and leaders of some Hindutva outfits have been allowed to visit the Shiv temple in Nalhar and they will perform 'jalabhishek' there. Mahamandaleshwar Swami Dharm Dev and Swami Parmanand were among the group allowed to visit the temple.

After offering prayers at the Nalhar temple, the group accompanied by some locals left for the Jhir temple at Firozpur Jhirka.

Bajrang Dal's Gurugram district convener Praveen Hindustani told PTI that a limited number of people took part in the 'yatra' and they have now left for Jhir temple in a bus amid tight security.

Meanwhile, Hindu rights leader Kulbhushan Bhardwaj claimed that Hindu leaders have been put under house arrest by the Haryana government.

"This is an attack on the Hindu faith. By putting Hindu leaders under house arrest, the Haryana government has reminded them of the reign of the Mughals," he said.

Police personnel were also deployed outside Bhardwaj's house.

The area from Sohna to Nuh wore a deserted look. Not a single shop was open and no locals were seen on the streets.

A 30-year-old resident of Nuh, who didn't wish to be named, said, "There are no issues here. People here live peacefully and we have closed our shops as a precautionary measure. We saw what happened last time. An atmosphere of fear is being created here for absolutely no reason."

The Nuh district administration has already ordered the closure of educational institutions and banks on Monday, suspended mobile Internet and bulk SMS services, and imposed prohibitory orders in the communally-sensitive district as a precautionary measure.

Outsiders have been barred from entering Nuh with security personnel being deployed at all entry points of the district. According to officials, 1,900 Haryana Police personnel and 24 companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed to keep a strict vigil. Multiple layers of barricades have been erected by police. Anti-riot vehicles and drones have also been deployed.

Communal clashes had erupted in Nuh and its adjoining areas after a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession was attacked by a mob on July 31, leading to the death of six people, including two home guards and a cleric.

On August 13, the Sarv Jatiya Hindu Mahapanchayat gave a call to resume the Brij Mandal Shobha Yatra in Nuh on August 28 which was disrupted by the communal clashes in July.

The mahapanchayat had then decided that the 'yatra' would resume from Nalhar in Nuh and then pass through Firozpur Jhirka's Jhir temple and Shingar temple in the district. The VHP has said a procession will be taken out and asserted that there is no need to obtain permission for such religious events.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday asked devotees to offer prayers at temples in their neighbourhood instead of holding any 'yatra'. Permission has not been granted for the 'yatra', he had also said.

Nuh Deputy Commissioner Dhirendra Khadgata has deputed 57 duty magistrates at designated places in the wake of the call for the 'shobha yatra'. He also appealed to the locals to cooperate with the district administration in maintaining law and order.

Haryana Police chief Shatrujeet Kapur on Saturday had said the administration has denied permission for the yatra due to a meeting of the G20 Sherpa Group, scheduled to be held in Nuh from September 3 to 7, and to maintain law and order in the aftermath of the July 31 violence.