A First Information Report has been registered against Haryana Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Javed Ahmed, a Sohna resident for allegedly instigating a mob to attack Bajrang Dal member Pradeep Sharma and his friends during the communal clashes in Nuh last week.
The FIR includes charges of murder, rioting and unlawful assembly under the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Arms Act. Mr. Sharma sustained serious head injuries in the attack, and later died in a Delhi hospital.
‘AAP leader was 100 km away’
Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Gupta, the AAP leader in charge of Haryana, said that the allegations against Mr. Ahmed were all “lies” and an attempt to defame him and the party. He claimed that Mr. Ahmed had left Sohna three hours before the incident and returned only the next morning around 8 a.m., adding that there was closed-circuit television footage from the Delhi-Mumbai expressway to prove that Mr. Ahmed was in Punhana, about 100 km away, at the time of the incident.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva attacked the AAP, as well as the Congress for remaining silent about Mr. Ahmed’s alleged role in the violence. “The silence seems to be mutual, as AAP too is silent over Congress leaders like Jagdish Tytler involved in 1984 anti-Sikh riots,” Mr. Sachdeva said.
According to the FIR, a 150-strong armed mob led by the AAP leader had attacked Mr. Sharma and his friends Pawan and Ganpat, who were travelling in a car near Javed Colony in Sohna around 10:30 p.m. on July 31. Mr. Pawan, the complainant, said that the mob carried iron rods, stones and fire arms. “The mob attacked me at the behest of Javed and hit Pradeep on his head with a rod following which he fell on the road. A police team reached the spot and rescued me and Ganpat. The mob continued to beat Pradeep who was rescued a little later and taken to Sohna Civil Hospital,” Mr. Pawan said, according to the FIR.
Demolition drive
Meanwhile, the Nuh administration continued its demolition drive against illegal construction and the properties of those suspected to be involved in the communal clashes. On Sunday, the district administration knocked down the Sahara Hotel which was allegedly used by the rioters to pelt stones at a procession organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad on July 31. Over the past four days, 162 permanent and 591 temporary structures have been razed at 37 places on 57.5 acres of land.
The curfew in Nuh was relaxed for three hours on Sunday. So far, 56 FIRs have been registered, and 147 people arrested in Nuh in connection with the communal clashes. Six people were killed and 88 have sustained injuries in the riots.
