New Delhi (Agency): Amidst the tense atmosphere and violence in Haryana’s Nuh, reports surfaced that people participating in the Shobha Yatra were being “held hostage” at a Shiv temple. These claims were even echoed by the state’s home minister, Anil Vij. However, the temple’s priest, or pandit, provides a different story.
The grand Shiv temple, known as Naleshwar Mahadev Mandir, situated in Nuh’s Nalhar village, was said to be a place of refuge, according to the temple’s pandit.
On Monday, 31 July, Vij told a news agency that, “Some people were held against their will inside a temple. Those trapped inside the temple shared their live location with me through Google navigation.” Additionally, some media outlets reported that the temple was under attack by rioters. Both of these claims were denied by the temple’s pandit.
Pandit Deepak Sharma shared with The Quint that the temple, due to its age and importance, attracts a significant number of visitors, especially during the month of Sawan. Aware of the Shobha Yatra, he expected a number of Yatris to visit the temple.
Sharma stressed, “Nothing happened at the temple, it wasn’t attacked. When the yatris began leaving from the temple late Monday afternoon, they witnessed tensions on the streets and couldn’t proceed. So they came back and took shelter here to protect themselves.” He estimated that “2000-2500 people” sought refuge at the temple.
By Tuesday, 1 August, the temple was teeming with security officials and police teams. Sharma confirmed, “As you can see, there is a very strong police and security presence now. So things are fine.”
As for the Shobha Yatra, Sharma admitted he isn’t too fond of sloganeering. He urged people to focus on religious harmony, maintaining good relations with others, and to pray with love.
Addressing allegations of provocative sloganeering by the Yatris, Sharma said, “I don’t have any particular attachment to sloganeering. I only think people should come and pray to God, take God’s name, come with love and leave with love, that is it.”
The violence broke out on Monday during the Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra, or the Shobha Yatra, and continued on Tuesday in various parts of Haryana, spreading from Nuh to Sohna and Gurugram. The violence has claimed five lives so far, including two home guards, two locals in Nuh, and one Naib Imam in Gurugram’s Sector 57.