Five killed as religious riots erupt in Indian state bordering Delhi

At least five people were killed and 45 sustained injuries after riots broke out between Hindu and Muslim groups in India’s northern state of Haryana . The clashes began Monday when a Hindu religious procession was passing through a Muslim-dominated area in Nuh district, located nearly 75km south of the capital New Delhi . ‘The procession was meant to move from one temple to another but clashes broke out between two groups on the way, which resulted in the death of four people,’ Krishan Kumar, a spokesperson of Nuh police, told Reuters. Two of the victims have been identified as members of the home guard, a voluntary force that helps police control civil disturbances. The home guards were shot dead as a mob reportedly tried to stop the procession by throwing stones. People who were part of the procession retaliated by throwing stones at the mob, which aggravated the violence . A third person was killed in the overnight violence. Several cars and public buses were torched as the violence spilled into neighbouring Gurugram, touted as the country’s IT hub. Nearly 2,500 people, who had arrived in Nuh to take part in the procession, were later rescued by the local police on Monday evening as they sought shelter in a nearby temple. Later, a mob of nearly 70 people set fire to a mosque in Gurugram, killing the imam during the early hours of Tuesday. ‘We have identified some of the accused and action will be taken soon,’ deputy commissioner of police Nitish Aggarwal told reporters. Prohibitory orders banning the assembly of people have been placed in Nuh district, while mobile internet services have been suspended in multiple parts of the state till Wednesday to contain the “intense communal tension”, the Haryana government said. Schools and colleges were directed to remain closed while private companies issued work- from-home orders for their employees. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar condemned the violence as he appealed to people to maintain calm in the state. “The guilty will not be spared at any cost, strictest action will be taken against them,” he tweeted. State home minister Anil Vij said the situation in Nuh was under control on Tuesday. “Both communities have been staying in Nuh peacefully for a long time. There is a conspiracy behind this. The way stones, weapons, bullets were found, it seems there is a mastermind behind this,” Mr Vij told ANI. Paramilitary forces and additional police forces from neighbouring regions have been deployed in Nuh to bring the situation under control, the home minister said, adding: ‘We are also trying to send forces by helicopter.’ Police have reportedly registered about 20 First Information Reports and detained few people in connection with the violence.