Mosque set on fire, 2 Muslim men thrashed in Haryana

NT Bureau, Agencies

New Delhi: A mosque was set on fire and a short circuit apparently triggered a blaze in another in Haryana's Nuh district, while two brothers belonging to Muslim community were allegedly beaten up in Gurugram by a group of about 30 people, police said on Thursday.

While one of the mosques is located near Vijay Chowk, the other is near a police station. Both mosques suffered some damage.

Superintendent of Police (Nuh) Varun Singla said, "Light arson happened in one mosque while short circuit seems to be the reason for the fire in the other. The police took control of the situation and are conducting raids to nab the suspects."

Soon after getting the information, fire brigades were rushed to the two mosques and the blaze was doused, police said. A senior police officer said they are trying to identify the accused with the help of CCTV cameras installed in nearby areas.

Earlier, police had said that Molotov cocktails were hurled at the two mosques. In neighbouring Gurugram, two men identified as Nisar Ali and his brother Rustam Ali, were allegedly beaten up on Wednesday evening by a group of about 30 people, police said.

Survival of migrant workers in question Scores of migrant workers in Nuh are either returning home out of fear or fleeing to neighbouring Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in search of work in the wake of communal violence in the district which has claimed six lives.

Forced to stay indoors for the last few days in view of the prevailing situation and the curfew, the workers and their families, including children, said they have been surviving on crumbs.

Sartaj, a migrant worker who moved to Nuh about a month ago due to floods in his home town in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya, said he too wants to go back home but does not have money either to return or provide food for his family.

"I had a food cart that got washed away in the floods in Auraiya. I moved to Nuh and set up a cart here and things were returning to normal when the violence occurred here. Now, I am back to square one," Sartaj told PTI.

"I wish to go back home, but I don't have the money to travel," he said with tears in his eyes.