Nuh violence: police raids force Muslims to flee from Meoli village, several camps in forest ( Maktoobmedia )

By SHAHEEN ABDULLA / Maktoobmedia

Near the entrance of Meoli, a Muslim-dominated village in Haryana’s Nuh district, a 15-year-old is on the lookout for police. Three people were picked up an hour ago, making him worried. Several of his friends have either been detained or have fled from the village.

“I will run and hide in the forest behind the village,” the boy told Maktoob. “They are only coming for Muslims”.

Hundreds of Muslim youth are camping in the forest near the border of Rajasthan after a “brutal police crackdown”. On August 01, villagers say about 20 vehicles arrived at around 5 am and detained random people including minors. Police refused to inform the family what was going on and allegedly abused women who tried to stop them.

Nine family members of the village chief Chaudhary Shfaat were detained on that morning. He says the arrested individuals are not being allowed to see their families.

“About 2000 youths have fled from the place,” the 77-year-old told Maktoob. “Some are at their relative’s house, others are camping in the forest behind the village. Some are in the mountains.”

A fact-finding report by Association for Protection of Civil Rights(APCR) titled “Beyond The Surface: Exposing Systemic Violence & Police Complicity” states that “the arrests made by the police were one-sided, targeting Muslims and leaving out any potential involvement by Hindus”.

As many as 393 people have been arrested and 160 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in connection with the communal clashes in Nuh on July 31, The Hindu reported.

This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here

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