Cow Vigilante's Video, Police Moves In Focus After Haryana Violence

Chaudhary Aftab Ahmed, the MLA from Haryana's Nuh, said authorities had been alerted to the brewing tension on social media.

The deaths of at least five people, including two police personnel, in clashes between Hindus and Muslims that erupted on Monday around 50 km south of New Delhi, and simmered even a day later, have brought questions about the role of social media posts and alleged inaction on the part of the authorities in sharp focus.

The violence began after a Hindu religious procession passed through the Muslim-dominated Nuh district in Haryana state. While the situation remains tense, questions are being raised over the police's inaction, specifically regarding their failure to address the brewing tension on social media, the continued absence of an arrest, and their inability to anticipate communal unrest in a sensitive area.

The clashes have been blamed, in part, on a video posted on social media by Monu Manesar, a self-proclaimed 'gau rakshak' or cow vigilante accused of the murder of two Muslim cattle traders last year. Manesar's video, in which he declared his intention to participate in a religious event and urged others to join him, provoked a strong reaction from the Muslim community, with some members challenging and threatening Manesar in response.