On July 22, 2024, the fourth annual Brajmandal Abhishek Yatra passed peacefully through the Nuh district in Haryana. Last year, the same yatra was characterised by violence, followed by state repression that casts a shadow till today. In a press conference on July 29, 2024 People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) released its fact-finding report titled In the wake of Nuh: A report on state repression, which examines the weaponisation of state machinery against Nuh residents in the aftermath of July 31, 2023.
PUDR conducted fact-finding visits in Nuh town, Nagina tehsil and nearby villages between August 2023 and June 2024. The team spoke to a wide cross-section of people, both Hindu and Muslim, and accused persons released on bail, the families of those still in custody, lawyers, other Nuh residents and police officials. Besides drawing upon these testimonies, the report analyses official documents, including a randomly-selected sample of 100 bail orders in Nuh violence cases, to shed light on concerns with police investigation. To protect the identities of those involved, pseudonyms have been used throughout the report. None of the names reflect the person’s real name, and any resemblance to the names of local residents is coincidental.
As police officials confirmed to PUDR, 60 FIRs pertaining to the July 31, 2023 violence were lodged across seven police stations, in which 441 arrests were made till June 2024. Police action in these cases involved flagrant rights violations, outlined in Chapter II “Weaponisation of Criminal Justice System” of the report. Some of the salient findings include:
i. Raids and arrests
a. Beginning the night of July 31, 2023, raids were carried out with excessive force, with the police often destroying the homes and possessions of those raided (p. 17).
b. Fearing arbitrary arrests, people fled for neighbouring districts (p. 18).
c. In some cases, juveniles were illegally detained in police custody, in flagrant violation of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (pp. 19-20).
ii. Police custody
a. Several of those arrested were subjected to communal abuses and brutal violence, including torture with ‘rollers,’ where the arrested person would be made to strip and lie down with their hands tied, and a roller moved up and down their thighs, causing excruciating pain (pp. 23-24).
b. The police reportedly demanded bribes from hapless relatives in return for not inventing evidence against the arrestees or torturing them less (pp. 24-25).
iii. Jail conditions
a. Inmates described horrific overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions in jail (pp. 28-29).
b. According to a writ petition filed by one of the inmates before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, some inmates were brutally assaulted and communally abused by police and jail officials and forced to undergo degrading punishments (pp. 29-30).
The report’s analysis of police investigation in various Nuh violence cases reveals areas of concern:
i. Analysis of bail orders (Chapter III)
a. Though bail is not supposed to be decided on the merits of a case, bail orders contain insights into the quality of police investigation: gravity of allegations against the accused and evidence supporting these allegations are factors that courts must examine while adjudicating bail.
b. In 91% of detailed bail orders in our sample, the court noted the lack of any independent or corroborating evidence supporting arrest (pp. 35-37).
c. In some bail orders, where accused persons including an individual with a 75% orthopaedic disability had been implicated in 17 cases, the court noted while granting bail that it was “humanly not possible” to be involved in 17 FIRs “of like nature of the same day of incident” (pp. 36-37; pp. 46-48).
ii. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA)
a. Sections 10 and 11 of the UAPA were added to four FIRs in January-February These Sections can only be applied if an “unlawful” association, declared by the central government and confirmed by a Tribunal under Section 3 of the UAPA, is involved. There is no information, however, on alleged links between any such “unlawful” association and the July 31, 2023 incidents (pp. 32-33).
b. The belated naming of Congress MLA Mamman Khan in one of the UAPA FIRs, pertaining to the looting and arson of a shop, suggests a political overtone to the While granting bail to him in this FIR, the court observed that “there is no post from social media account of the applicant accused Mamman Khan inciting violence.” The court further observed that “he has been booked only on the disclosure statement of co-accused,” who was granted bail as the court found his alibi convincing, of CCTV footage showing that he was on duty as part of the Haryana Roadways’ checking staff at the Ferozepur Jhirka bus depot (pp. 38-40).
c. Bail orders point to several irregularities in the cases pertaining to
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- the destruction of the boundary wall of the Cyber Crime Cell Police Station (pp. 40-42). The court noted in bail orders as late as January 2024, that the “police has not seen the video’s and photo’s recorded/captured by the complainant till date to verify the presence” of the accused.
- the three deaths in Nuh district (pp. 42-46). In several instances, the court noted how material available to the police in fact showed that the accused person was not even in Nuh on July 31, 2023.
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iii. Communal bias
a. No cases were registered against Hindu yatris except Bittu Bajrangi, despite reports of several other yatris being armed (pp. 48-49). Of 441 arrests till June 2024, 427 were of Muslims and 14 of Hindus, of which 13 were not part of the yatra (p. 11).
b. Even the case against Bittu Bajrangi was filed by a police official 15 days later, a delay that weighed bail proceedings in his favour in court (p. 13; pp. 48-49).
In its concluding chapter, besides commenting on Nuh’s non-communal history, the report discusses the costs of repression (Chapter V).
i. Residents face economic hardships because of destruction of homes, arrests of breadwinners, and disruption of trade and commerce. This includes Rohingya refugees, who already face ongoing state harassment, as some of them were also arrested with little basis in Nuh violence cases.
ii. Though most accused have been released on bail, high surety amounts and day-long court appearances impact their ability to resume their employment and education, further impoverishing their families.
iii. Police intimidation and harassment continue, as Nuh violence cases remain pending and UAPA charges have contributed to the atmosphere of
The police investigation seems to show that the culprits shall not be brought to book, and the reality of the happenings shall always remain shrouded in a haze. What the state has managed to do is to brutalise a set of Muslim youth, destroy the homes and livelihoods of another set of unconnected people and further the communalisation in society and of the functionaries of the state.
PUDR demands:
i. An independent inquiry into police excesses committed in the aftermath of the July 31 2023 violence in Nuh district; along with the initiation of departmental action against erring officers and compensation to survivors;
ii. An independent inquiry into abuse committed by Nuh District Jail authorities; and
iii. Removal of charges under Sections 10 and 11 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 in Nuh violence cases
For the full report and video of the press conference click below
In the wake of Nuh: A report on state repression
On July 29, 2024, Justice Madan Lokur (retd., Supreme Court) and Professor Manoranjan Mohanty (retd., University of Delhi) spoke at the press conference for the release of PUDR’s report, In the wake of Nuh: A report on state repression.
