A mob on Tuesday killed a young cleric in a late-night attack on a mosque, torched an eatery and vandalised shops in Gurugram, said police said. Apart from Gurugram, violence was also reported from Palwal district where a mob set over 25 huts in Parshuram Colony on fire. A spell of violent incidents was triggered after stone pelting on VHP's religious yatra in Haryana's Nuh. 6 people have lost their lives in several violent incidents in Haryana.
Meanwile, following the death of a young naib imam of a Gurugram mosque, his village in Bihar sought justice. People at 19-year-old Haafiz Saad's village - Maniyadih - in north Bihar's Sitamarhi district demanded strict action on the matter.
"Saad babu was scheduled to return by a train along with his elder brother Shadab. Shadab had called us to complain that his brother was not ready to leave the mosque until tomorrow morning," the slain naib imam's maternal uncle Ibrahim Akhtar said.
"The main imam of the masjid had gone out of the station, and Saad felt duty-bound not to leave the premises until his superior, who was scheduled to return on Thursday, was back," said the bereaved uncle.
The elder brother, who stays elsewhere in Gurugram and gives tuition for a living, was of the view that they leave for a "safer" place, mindful of the communal violence there. However, for the younger sibling, the call for duty was too compelling. Saad's father Mushtaq smells a "conspiracy" against his son, unable to come to terms with reports that the mild-mannered youngster was attacked with swords before being shot dead.
"What was my son's fault? Why did the mob attack the naib imam and not others who were present inside the mosque? I want justice. I want nothing else from the government," said the crestfallen father.
"We were planning to visit Muzaffarpur tomorrow to receive Saad and his brother at the station and bring them home. Now, here we are, awaiting the ambulance which would bring his body," wailed the bereaved father.
The elder brother, who was to accompany Saad on the train journey, was now travelling by the hearse carrying the mortal remains.
Sitamarhi Superintendent of Police Manoj Tiwari said, "The village falls under Nanpur police station. I am instructing the SHO to extend all help that the bereaved family may need during the funeral".
(With PTI inputs)
