Man held in connection with killing of VHP member during Haryana riots

The Gurugram police on Thursday arrested a man in connection with the alleged killing of a Bajrang Dal member during the recent communal violence in Haryana, an official said. The district of Nuh—close to Gurugram—witnessed the eruption of violence on 31 July when mobs allegedly pelted stones at the Vishva Hindu Parishad’s (VHP) Braj Mandal Yatra. The violence spiralled and soon spilled to adjoining Gurugram and six people, including two home guards and a cleric, were killed.
The deceased, identified as Pradeep Kumar Sharma, was part of a group from Sohna in Gurugram that had participated in the VHP yatra. While they were returning to Javed Colony in Sohna, their car was pelted with stones by rioters, hours after communal clashes erupted in Nuh. Police rescued the group and admitted them to a hospital but Sharma succumbed to injuries on 2 August. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Gurugram police force arrested one Azharuddin alias Ajju, a resident of Raipur colony in Sohna. This is the first arrest in this case, police said.
“The arrested accused was produced in a city court today and we have taken him on three days police remand. We are questioning the accused,” said Vijay Pratap Singh, the head of the SIT. Local Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Javed Ahmad was booked for allegedly planning Sharma’s killing but no further police action has been taken against him yet. A senior police officer said the allegation against the AAP leader is being probed and action will be taken according to the law. An FIR was registered against Javed and others under Sections 148, (riots), 149 (unlawful assembly), 188 (disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant), 302 (murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) Indian Penal Code and Arms Act at Sohna police station. A seven-member SIT was constituted under the supervision of Singh, who is also the Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime), to nab the accused. In the SIT, police teams of various crime units, including Sohna, were involved.