M A I N   N E W S

Mewat land dispute turns bloody, two killed
Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

Vehicles burnt down by irate villagers following a firing incident at Pipaka village in Mewat, Haryana, on Saturday.

Pipaka (Mewat), July 2
A group of about 50 persons opened indiscriminate fire on residents of this village this morning, killing two of them on the spot and injuring six.

The village is about 10 km from Taoru town on the Sohna-Taoru road and falls in the Taoru Assembly segment.

The Superintendent of Police, Gurgaon, Mr Yogender Nehra, who also hold as the charge of Mewat district, confirmed the two deaths.

The assailants and the victims are from two religious communities. The cause of the violence is said to be a dispute over land in the village. However, fundamentalist groups in the area are allegedly trying to create communal tension on the issue.

Villagers, in retaliation, set ablaze 11 vehicles which were used by the assailants to come to the village. Among the vehicles gutted were two Ford Ikon cars, three Accent cars, two Maruti cars, two jeeps and a tractor-trailer.

At the time of filing this report, 15 persons had been rounded up. However, no case had been registered. According to Mr Nehra, a case will be registered only after the statements of all concerned are recorded.

Although the police has apparently brought the situation under control, tension prevails in and around the village.

A 500-strong police force has been deputed in the area surrounding the village. The police force was requisitioned from neighbouring towns of Gurgaon and Mewat districts. Also present in strength were personnel from the Rapid Action Force and the riot police.

The violence this morning was allegedly a sequel to a verbal duel between Mr Manoj Yadav, a realtor and resident of Fajirpur village in Gurgaon subdivision, and Mr Jurruddin of this village yesterday. Mr Yadav owns a 20-acre farmhouse in this village. Yesterday, he raised objection to Mr Juruddin entering his farmhouse and using it as thoroughfare. Both of them were pacified by a resident of the village. The process of sowing was going on in the farmhouse.

This morning, Mr Yadav along with about 50 persons, armed with weapons, including guns, entered the village and opened fire.

The first to have received the gunshots was Juruddin. The next were Noor Mohammad and Faajluddin, both of whom died on the spot. Among the six injured were Jaheed and Aasima. It was early morning and many of them were just lazing after their sleep.

According to Mustkil (15), a resident of the village, who received minor injuries in the clash, the violence took place for about two hours. After the incident, the culprits made good their escape using a truck of the village after firing and injuring its driver Jaheed.

Mustkil and Asima alleged that the culprits attacked the villagers and continued with their violent spree in the presence of police personnel present at the site. They alleged that some of the police personnel were egging on the culprits. This, however, was rebutted by the police authorities.

A former Congress MLA, Mr Zakir Hussain, and the present INLD MLA, Mr Saheeda, have condemned the incident.

After adopting an adamant posture for several hours, the villagers relented and allowed the authorities to take the two bodies for post-mortem at the government hospital in Mandi Khera, near here.