3 out of 5 accused of starting fire in Gurugram mazar held: Police

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The Gurugram police on Tuesday arrested three out of five accused for allegedly starting a fire in a mazar at Khandsa village here, officials said.

According to police, the five men committed the act after getting influenced by social media posts on the communal clashes that began in the neighbouring Nuh district and spread to other parts of the city and nearby areas last week.

The three arrested men have been identified as Gulshan, Vijay and Lalit, all residents of Khandsa village, a police official said.

He said while Gulshan is a shopkeeper, Vijay is an auto driver and Lalit works as a delivery boy for a pharmacy.

"All the five hatched a plan to create nuisance after coming across various social media posts on the Nuh violence. The accused, who were in an inebriated state, started the fire in the mazar with the help of some flammable material Sunday night. They then fled the spot. Our team identified them and three of them have been arrested. We are questioning the accused," Varun Dahiya, ACP crime, said.

The incident took place when prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC were still in force in Gurugram in view of the communal clashes in Nuh and nearby areas.

The district administration lifted Section 144 on Monday.

According to a complaint filed by Ghasite Ram, the caretaker of the mazar who is a native of the Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh, it was all normal at the shrine in the Khandsa village when he left for home in the Feroze Gandhi Colony at 8:30 pm on Sunday.

He said around 1.30 am, he received a phone call from somebody living near the shrine that a fire in the shrine had been started by some people.

In a complaint filed at the Sector 37 police station, Ram said the fire was brought under control with the help of people. "But when I went there, I saw offerings kept inside the mazar were burnt."

Ram said he has been working at the shrine for about seven years and has seen "people of all religions offering their respect there."

The small shrine located in the middle of a market also has pictures of Hindu deities on the inner walls along with the tomb of a "peer baba". On the outer wall also, there are picture of a Hindu deity, and the Om and Swastik symbols.

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