A mazar, or a Muslim shrine, was set on fire in Gurugram’s Khandsa village in the early hours of Monday, PTI reported.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Varun Dahiya said that the three out of five accused men were arrested on Tuesday.
The three arrested men have been identified as Gulshan, Vijay and Lalit, reported PTI.
“All the five hatched a plan to create nuisance after coming across various social media posts on the Nuh violence,” Dahiya said, reported PTI. “The accused, who were in an inebriated state, started the fire in the mazar with the help of some flammable material Sunday night.”
The police are questioning the three men who allegedly set fire to the shrine when prohibitory orders banning large gatherings under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure were still in force in Gurugram in view of the communal clashes in Nuh and nearby areas.
“The mazar had photos of Hindu gods,” Dahiya said, according to The Indian Express. “The fire was outside the main structure, and the offerings were set on fire,” he said.
The incident comes days after communal violence erupted during the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, a procession organised by the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, in Nuh on July 31. It quickly spread to other parts, including Gurugram.
Hindu mobs went on a rampage in Gurugram, torching a mosque in Sector 57, killing its deputy imam and setting fire to shops and shanties of Muslim migrant workers in Sector 70 the next day.
On Monday, the police said that a first information report has been registered against unidentified people on the basis of a complaint filed by the mazar’s caretaker Ghasite Ram.
They have been booked under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 188 (disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house) of the Indian Penal Code.
In his complaint to the police, Ram said that the incident has hurt the faith of people and cause “riots in the society”, reported PTI. “Action should be taken against those accused,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, stones were thrown at a Muslim man’s house in Gurugram’s Sector 9A on Sunday, according to The Indian Express.
In his complaint to the police, Istikhar Ahmed said that incident took place around 11.30 pm.
“My son, Gulzar Ahmed, and I found that a window near the stairs was broken and three men were standing near a bike,” Ahmed said. “Two [of them] were pelting stones at the house and gate. Later, the men pelted stones at another man’s house, across from mine. When people started assembling, they quickly left on their bikes.”
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