On 31st July, almost 4000 Hindus participated in a religious procession by Vishwa Hindu Parishad. The religious procession came under attack by an Islamist mob in Nuh, Haryana. While Hindus were trapped in a hostage-like situation, Islamists used an old video of Gau Rakshak and Bajrang Dal activist Monu Manesar to claim he was present at the Jalabhishek Yatra on Shravan Somvar and the violence took place because of him.
Facebook user Sahid Demroat shared the video on 31st July and used hashtags that Monu Manesar and his team often use.
In a now-deleted tweet, Harun Khan wrote, “Monu Manesar, accused in the murder of Junaid and Nasir, is present in Mewat Yatra today on 31st July 2023.” He tagged Rajasthan and Haryana police to take action. Harun had shared a screenshot of a Facebook post by one Nasir Zakhopuria from Mewat. The Facebook post has also been deleted.
Twitter user x_aliways claimed Monu was present at the rally and called a religious procession an “anti-Muslim” rally. He shared a screenshot from the old video.
Twitter user BinT_E_Hawa___ shared a screenshot from the old video and called Manesar a terrorist.
Twitter user The Muslim also claimed Manesar was present at the rally and accused him of causing riots.
Facebook user The Justaaj Live, which appears to be a news page, claimed Monu Manesar went to Mewat to instigate violence.
As VHP already categorically denied that Monu Manesar was present at the procession, OpIndia investigated the video. We found the video shared by one of Monu Manesar’s colleagues and a Bajrang Dal activist Srikant from May 2023.
Furthermore, we were informed that the video was from last year. In another post from Shrikant posted on 2nd October 2022, we noticed that the persons in the video were wearing the same clothes. The photographs were from an event Bajrang Dal activists organised to celebrate Manesar’s appointment as Gau Raksha chief.
As it was evident that the video was from October last year, upon further digging, we found the video published on October 2, 2022, on Instagram.
Verdict: Islamists used an old video of Monu Manesar to justify anti-Hindu riots in Mewat. As per VHP’s statement to OpIndia, Manesar did not attend the rally.
Anti-Hindu riots in Nuh
On 31st July, Islamists unleashed violence in the Nuh district of Haryana. Tensions gripped several parts of Haryana when stones were pelted at the Jalabhishek Shobha yatra in the Muslim-majority region of Mewat. The procession was taken out to mark the auspicious occasion of Shravan Somwar.
In several videos of the clashes, a mob charging in a hostile way at the yatris could be heard raising “Allahu Akbar” and indulging in riotous activities. Two home guards were killed and about a dozen policemen injured as a mob in Haryana’s Nuh district tried to stop a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, pelting stones and setting cars on fire, police said. The state government suspended the Internet to stop the spread of misinformation and rumours.
Following the incident, the Union government deployed 20 companies (about 2000 personnel) of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to bring the law and order situation under control upon the Haryana government’s request. The additional force will remain at Nuh till 6th August 2023. The contingent includes four companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), two companies of the Border Security Force (BSF), two companies of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and 12 companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF).
