The?Brijmandal?Jalabhishek?Yatra, which?starts?from?Nalhar?Mahadev Mandir in Nuh, has been held for the past several years. However, the religious?procession started?to gain momentum only?in the past three years, says Sachin Talwar, a BJP worker.?

Following the murders?of Nasir and Junaid—the two?Muslim?men?charred to death by cow vigilantes in Bhiwani—the Haryana Police?allowed the procession to?pass solely on the terms?that?any?weapons, ammunition?or the likes?are absent from the?ostensibly?peaceful?“religious procession”.?However, in the run-up to the day,?the alleged videos?of Monu?Manesar—one of the prime accused in the Bhiwani Murder case, and a Bajrang?Dal member— started?doing rounds on social media.?

Soon after, an?apprehension could?be sensed brewing among the communities involved in the?subsequent?clash.?The?murder accused and a?self-proclaimed?cow-vigilante—Monu?was seen saying in a WhatsApp status uploaded?from his account on July 29: “I will be in the Yatra in person, and my whole team will be present there.”?Nevertheless, Monu?did not turn up on the day of the event?and?later?released a statement that he was?advised?against it by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), as it?feared that it?could potentially create a stir?in a?predominantly Muslim?residentiary.?

The?day of the Yatra?was preceded by a meeting between Nuh Police and district officials, VHP, Bajrang Dal and Jamiat Ulema-I-Hind?representatives, on July 27,?where?the ‘no weapon’ clause was?greatly emphasised?upon, as per deputy commissioner Prashant Panwar.??
Maulana Yahiya?Kareemi, a member of the Jamiat Ulema-I- Hind, confirmed with a?statement that?they were privy with the procession for the past three years, and were only against the use of weapons.?“We?flagged that use of weapons was what we stood against,”?he said.??

Despite the measures,?on July 31 afternoon, violence broke out at Kheda Mod. People from both the procession and the?mob accused of having instigated the clash were armed. The intended slogans raised during the?procession?apparently agitated?the crowd which resulted in stone-pelting, eventually from both sides.?The mob also set cars and shops on fire.?By 4 PM, clashes had spread across Nuh, and police stations, shops and petrol pumps were?set ablaze.?

While the Shiv Temple at Nahar became a refuge for hundreds of people,?six?got killed and over 70 were injured.?Among the deceased, two?were?home guards and four were civilians.?Of the injured,?at least 12 were shot at. At least?500?country-made?pistols and?revolvers?were bought from local gunrunners?during the clashes.?Crates of empty glass bottles, improvised petrol bombs, stones, iron rods and wood sticks were also found on the roof.

A resident confessed?to having guns and cartridges kept on the roof,?to?scare?and disperse the crowd?but never intended?to kill anyone.?The alleged plan was to return the firearms to the gunrunners, who would have then sold them to different buyers?to ensure that the police?is?unable to track them. Both sides were prepared for confrontation and informed the police.?

Locals?witnessed?yatris?carrying weapons in vehicles they arrived in, which?evidently points?to a planned altercation.?According to the police, preparations had begun when the alleged video resurfaced on social media.???

When asked, the?attendees and?Bajrang?Dal?workers?justified?the?presence?or?the?use?of?weapons?as a ‘licensed warrant’ to protect themselves in the face of?uncertainty.?“We were unarmed, with just a few five to six licensed guns, against a mob of hundreds,?to protect ourselves,”?acceded Balwinder Jogi, a BJP worker.?He further added that?locals?from?Mewat?were?scarcely?present?in?the?crowd?of?thousands?who?led?the?procession.? While?the residents?were angered, expecting a?possible visit?by Monu,?the Bajrang Dal members touted it as an incident in exclusivity, painting the?Yatra as a religious procession,?unaffiliated?with?any?party’s?agenda.??

?A total of 116 people?have?been arrested and 44 FIRs have been registered in different districts of Haryana,?until?now