Gurgaon, April 12
The self-imposed “curfew” by villagers in Punhana turned into an official one after a local youth was allegedly shot late last night.

The victim was the son of a cook at the Punhana police station and the body — with a lone shot to the head — was found from near an ice factory and a petrol pump on the Jamalgarh road.

The administration, which till yesterday was urging the locals to step out and break the self-imposed curfew, was forced to impose it to prevent any outbreak of communal violence.

Trouble started on polling day (April 10) after three BJP activists, including a polling agent at booth number 71 at Nakanpur in Punhana, were allegedly thrashed by INLD supporters.

The villagers imposed a “curfew” following which markets, schools and even banks were shut. One of the communities organised a panchayat and issued an diktat prohibiting all purchase from the shops of the rival community. But matters got worse when the youth’s body was found late on Friday.

While the administration claimed that the murder was not related to poll-day violence, the victim’s father in his complaint stated otherwise.

"My son objected to bogus voting by agents of one party. So nine party activists rounded him up and shot him. The police are trying to write off his death as just another murder, but it is the outcome of poll-day violence," said the victim's father.

The police have begun their investigation and around 400 personnel from the state police and paramilitary forces, including two companies of the CRPF, have been deployed in the affected areas.

"We are sure that the two incidents are unrelated, but we have clamped a curfew as a precautionary measure. At the moment, the Haryana police and CRPF are on duty. We have kept armed forces in the reserve lest the situation worsens. After a late-evening review, we will decide on relaxing the curfew,” read an official statement issued by Deputy Commissioner of Mewat RC Verma.