In the violence that ensued in the Nuh region of Haryana on July 31st after stones were pelted on Jalabhishek Yatra taken out by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, six people were killed including four civilians and two home guards. OpIndia recently published an exclusive story after speaking to the people who witnessed the horrific killing of a car mechanic and Bajrang Dal activist Abhishek Rajput (Abhishek Chauhan). According to an Indian Express report, Abhishek Chauhan’s 25-year-old cousin Mahesh saw his brother getting attacked and shot dead by a rabid mob.
Mahesh narrated how the mob mercilessly killed the Hindu youth by first shooting him down and then slitting his throat with a sword.
“Just as we came out of the Shiv Temple in Nalhar, we saw a mob, armed with swords, guns and stones, running towards the temple. They started assaulting people, firing and setting cars on fire. A bullet hit my brother (Abhishek) and he fell. I cried for help, but there was no one around to us. I was trying to take Abhishek somewhere safe, but a man with a sword slashed his neck and escaped. I had to leave him there and take shelter in a tent. After an hour, policemen came and took him to a hospital but he was declared dead,” Mahesh told IE.
As OpIndia reported earlier, a resident of the Hathin area in Mewat named Bharat Bhushan said that Abhishek had come from Panipat to offer water to Nalhar Temple. He was assaulted by a violent Muslim mob at this point. Bharat Bhushan stated that the rioters first shot Abhishek before slitting his throat.
Speaking to OpIndia, Bobby, the Bajrang Dal’s Panipat district convenor, said that he and Abhishek were among the hundred people who travelled by bus and other vehicles to the Nalhar temple in Nuh. A mob comprising 250 Muslims suddenly attacked them shortly after they offered prayers in the temple.
Bobby asserted that a Haryana Police DSP and a few constables were also present in his convoy, who had just fired a single round or two into the air before leaving. Bobby, who identified himself as an eyewitness to the incident, added that Hindu organisations supported and protected the police officers. It is when the Muslim mob approached the women that they decided to protect them.
When the women were being sent back to the temple, firing started from the Muslim side. Abhishek Rajput, a resident of Noorwala area of Panipat, was shot in the waist and fell there. According to Bobby, the man accompanying Abhishek tried to lift him up but he was already unconscious.
Mewat Shobha Yatra attack
On Monday, violence broke out in Haryana’s Nuh district during the ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra,’ which was organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. The death toll from the clashes has now reached 5, including two personnel from the Haryana home guard. The deputy commissioner urged people to stay indoors, venture outside only for essential tasks, and disregard any circulating rumours.
Vehicles were burnt and stones pelted at the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Jalabhishek Yatra as clashes erupted between two communities in the Muslim-majority region of Mewat in Haryana.
