Haryana: Palwal Police Register FIR Over Provocative Speeches During Mahapanchayat

Hundreds of members belonging to Hindu outfits gathered at a mahapanchayat in Palwal on Sunday and announced plans to march in a religious procession in a village in the Nuh district on August 28.

Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal supporters burn an effigy during a protest against the violence in Haryana's Nuh district, in Jabalpur.

Source : PTI

The Palwal police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unidentified people for allegedly making provocative speeches during 'Sarv Hindu Samaj mahapanchayat' in the Haryana district on August 13. It was based on a complaint by Probationer Sub-Inspector (PSI) Sachin Singh, who alleged that some people made provocative speeches against the people of another community during a gathering in the Pondri village. SHO Manoj Kumar said that the case has been registered and that action will be taken as per the law, according to a PTI report.

The FIR was registered under IPC sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 505 (statements conducing public mischief), among others, at the Hathin Police station on Monday, police said.

According to The Times Of India, the mahapanchayat was moved to Palwal after the police denied permission to hold the event in Nuh, where a curfew is in force since the violence broke out in July. 

Hundreds of members belonging to Hindu outfits gathered at a mahapanchayat in Palwal on Sunday and announced plans to march in a religious procession in a village in the Nuh district on August 28 more than two weeks after their previous procession was attacked by Muslim residents, leading to communal clashes in the area.They demanded a NIA probe into the attack on the VHP yatra in Nuh on July 31 and urged for declaring Nuh a cow slaughter-free district.

Some Hindu leaders during the event stated that Hindus in Nuh, a Muslim-dominated district, should be given permission to secure arms licence for self-defence. 

Kulbhushan Bhardwaj was also one of the organisers of the Palwal mahapanchayat. On August 6, he was booked for his speech at another mahapanchayat held in Tigra village of Gurgaon. During the Palwal meet on Sunday, he challenged the Palwal administration on Sunday to file a second FIR against him and urged the people to bring out the religious procession on August 28 no matter what. 

Last week, the Supreme Court underscored the necessity of harmony and cooperation between communities, and suggested the formation of a committee led by the Director General of Police (DGP) of Haryana to investigate cases arising from recent communal riots in the state.  The court highlighted the urgency of addressing hate speech and ensuring the harmony of diverse communities.

The communal clashes, originating from an attack on a Vishva Hindu Parishad procession, led to six fatalities and widespread unrest in Nuh, subsequently spreading to Gurugram and nearby areas near the national capital.