Gurugram, Aug 8 The police have arrested three out of the five suspects who reportedly set a mazar at Khandsa village on fire on the intervening night of August 5-6, an official statement said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Gulshan (shopkeeper), Vijay (auto driver), and Lalit (pharmacy delivery boy).
The police have also managed to identify the remaining two suspects, who are currently on the run.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime), Varun Dahiya, said that the five men committed the act after being influenced by social media content related to the communal clashes that erupted in nearby Nuh district.
These clashes subsequently spread to various parts of Gurugram and its vicinity in the past week.
"The group devised the plan after consuming alcohol and being exposed to multiple social media posts about the Nuh violence. In an intoxicated state, the accused set fire to the mazar before fleeing from the scene. We have apprehended three of them and there interrogation is underway," Dahiya said at a media briefing.
Incidentally, Section 144 of the CrPc was clamped in Gurugram at the time of the incident, which prohibits gatherings of five or more individuals.
According to the FIR accessed by IANS, which was filed by Ghasite Ram, the caretaker of the mazar, people from different religious backgrounds used to frequent the place for worship.
Ram's complaint to the police detailed that on August 5 at around 8:30 p.m., he had left the premises after performing a puja. Hours later, at around 1:30 a.m., he received a call informing that unidentified persons had set the mazar ablaze.
"When I arrived, I saw that the items used for worship near the entrance of the mazar were charred. I've learnt that a group of five-six youth set the mazar ablaze," Ram said in his complaint.
As per the police, they received a call at around 1:30 a.m. about a fire at a religious site.
Based on Ram's complaint, the Gurugram Police registered an FIR under Sections 34 (actions performed by a group of individuals with a common intention), 153A (instigating enmity between different groups), 188 (disobeying an order issued by a public servant), and 436 (deliberate destruction of property by fire or explosive substance) of the Indian Penal Code.
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