Communal violence has tarnished Gurugram's reputation worldwide, 'complacency' of officials must be probed: Union Minister Rao Inderjeet

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, August 3

Expressing concern over the communal violence in Gurugram that went viral on social media, Gurugram MP and Union minister Rao Inderjeet Singh has said that the violence had done irreversible damage to image of Gurugram across the world.

Calling Gurugram the face of Haryana, Inderjeet Singh said these instances had affected the corporate, realty and prospective investors.

“Gurugram is our gem and we cannot have this happening here. The incidents going viral worldwide at a time when we are proudly hosting G20 events is not great. It has dented our image as a corporate hub or a prospective investment option. People will be scared to migrate here or invest and that will affect the state,” he said.

Calling out the evident intelligence lapse in Nuh communal clashes, he said the alleged complacency of the officials involved should be looked into as this could have easily been avoided. He questioned the permission for the VHP-Bajrang Dal yatra when key officials of the district were out of town and there were social media threats. He questions the security arrangements as arms were being carried by both parties that clashed.

“There sure have been lapses. As per the reports, things were charged up on social media prior to the yatra. The SP was on leave and as per my reports, the DC was off to a meeting in Chandigarh. The authorities need to foresee the situation and decide. If this yatra was being allowed, elaborate security arrangements should have been done and no arms or stones should have been allowed in the vicinity. The officials’ conduct sure is a question we need to answer. We could have avoided this,” said Inderjeet Singh.

According to highly placed sources in CID, the local unit had shared intelligence and formal warnings had been issued to local authorities about potential trouble during the VHP’s ‘Braj Mandal Yatra’ passing through Muslim-dominated areas. The local police station of Nuh, however, denied receiving any such alert.

“We had sent formal and specific intel that this yatra will be disrupted. We had also warned about provocative messages and gestures. How the intel was processed, we can’t say,” said a CID inspector.

The local SHO, according to highly placed sources, claims he did not get any such intel and the arrangements made during the yatra were routine. The entire force on duty concentrated on 15 key vulnerable points, which soon turned into 200 clash spots.