The Haryana Police on Saturday, 5 August, refuted claims of sexual harassment of women devotees who were allegedly stranded in Nalhar temple when the violence broke out in Haryana's Nuh district during a religious procession earlier this week.
Haryana's Additional General of Police (ADGP) Mamta Singh told news agency ANI, "A narrative is going on social media since yesterday (4 August) that the day the devotees were stuck at Nalhar Mandir, gruesome crimes like rape occurred with a few women devotees there during this. I would like to tell you that this is false, a complete rumour [sic]."
Strict action will be taken against rumour-mongers, Singh added.
Earlier on Saturday, several YouTube and Hindi news channels shared videos where they spoke to people who claimed that several Hindu women in Mewat were "abducted, dragged, molested and raped." They also claimed that many women were also "missing."
The Quint was unable to independently verify these claims on social media.
"I am saying this officially as I was present there during the entire incident. Nothing like that happened with any woman. We have already cleared that what actually happened there... Strict action will be taken against such rumour-mongers," the ADGP told the news agency.
'No Pak Links'
Posts containing misinformation/disinformation have been making the rounds on social media ever since the violence broke out in Haryana. A set of old photos also went viral, falsely linking it to the clashes in Nuh, Gurugram, and Sohna.
On Saturday, Haryana DGP PK Agrawal also clarified that there was no Pakistani connection in the incidents, as claimed in a few social media posts.
"No, there is nothing like that. It is not correct to react to this immediately. We will investigate the things that have come to us and take stringent action against those who are guilty," he told ANI.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, 6 August, several establishments were demolished in Nuh district.
A three-storey hotel called 'Sahara Hotel' was razed by the authorities, along with several shops near the Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati Government Medical College and Hospital.
More than 45 'illegal' structures and 13-15 'temporary illegal' structures were bulldozed near the Nalhar Medical College on Saturday, Sub Divisional Magistrate of Nuh Ashwini Kumar said while addressing the press.
According to Singh, a total of 216 persons have been arrested in Haryana in relation to the violence that broke out on 31 July, out of which 83 are preventive arrests.
Communal clashes broke out in Nuh during a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) procession earlier this week, leaving at least seven dead and several others injured. The violence spilled over to Gurugram, Sohna, and other districts in the days that followed.
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