On Saturday (August 5), the police informed that the attack on a cyber police station in the Nuh district of Haryana was pre-planned and aimed at destroying evidence of cyber fraud collected by the cops.
Opindia had earlier reported how Islamists broke inside the cyber police station in Nuh on July 31, 2023, using a hijacked bus. In a targeted attack, the violent mob ransacked and vandalised everything in sight with the ulterior motive of destroying crucial evidence. The Islamists also attempted to burn documents and set the police station on fire.
The Haryana police have now confirmed that the attack on the police station was the first incident in the chain of violence. It must be mentioned that on the intervening night of April 27-28 this year, the cops conducted one of the largest raids to crack down on cybercrime cases in the Nuh district (Mewat region).
CCTV footage of attack in #Mewat's Nuh cyber police station, yesterday the rioters tried to set fire to the police station. pic.twitter.com/xw7kX8cupE
— Nikhil Choudhary (@NikhilCh_) August 1, 2023
During the raid, a total of 5000 police personnel uncovered cyber fraud of a whopping ₹100 crores. The cops cracked down on 320 hideouts of cyber criminals in 14 villages in the Nuh district.
In a statement, a police spokesperson said, “A total of 65 cyber criminals were arrested during raids, with an additional 25 arrests made in the period before and after the raids. Besides this, law enforcement seized a significant number of IT devices, including 66 mobile devices and 5 micro-ATM machines.”
“These devices were likely used in carrying out cybercrimes. Numerous fake documents were exposed, including details of 739 fake SIM cards, 307 fake bank accounts and 199 UPI handles. These fake documents were likely used for illegal activities,” the spokesperson emphasised.
Reason why Cyber Police Station in Nuh was targeted. pic.twitter.com/Cy9on0jtQ3
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) August 3, 2023
“The criminals attempted to destroy evidence that had been collected during the raids. In the guise of the violence in Nuh district, an attempt was made to destroy the evidence collected during this raid and a planned attack on the cyber police station was executed,” the statement added.
It must be mentioned that the Haryana police have set up 318 cyber helpdesks across 29 cyber police stations in the State.
Nuh Shobha Yatra attack
On July 31, 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. 6 people have been killed so far.
To stop the spread of misinformation and rumours, internet services were suspended in the region. Following the violence at Nuh, VHP president, Alok Kumar issued a video statement urging the police and administration to quickly rescue the devotees stuck at several locations including Nuh temples, chowk, and near the police station. He stressed that the yatra is an annual affair and this year it was targeted in a pre-planned and organised attack.
Meanwhile, the Union government deployed 20 companies (about 2000 personnel) of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) to bring the law and order situation under control. The Haryana government also demolished the illegal shanties of over 200 rioters and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
It is worth noting that Haryana’s Mewat has been under the spotlight for the last few years for the increase in terror activities, cow smuggling, and forced conversions.
