Hundreds flee Gurugram slum cluster after threats to vacate area

Gurugram: Slum dwellers in Palra village flee after open threats from right-wing groups. Most are from West Bengal, employed as garbage collectors, domestic workers, and housekeeping staff. Mob thrashed people, set scrap and tyre puncture shops ablaze. Police deny any 'incident' but 12 FIRs registered, 6 preventive actions taken. Slum dwellers spent night in forested area, 90% left since Tuesday. DCP blames social media rumours.

A day after open threats were issued to them, residents of a slum cluster in Palra village of Gurugram’s Sector 70A on Wednesday said most of the families, predominantly from West Bengal, have fled the area. The ones who stayed back live in fear, with some spending the night in a forested area even as the Gurugram police deny any ‘incident’ in the area.

With the flames of the communal violence that began in Mewat region’s Nuh on Monday spreading to Gurugram and other districts of southern Haryana, a mob of members of some right-wing outfits assaulted the slum dwellers in Palra village on Tuesday and told them to “go back where you came from”. Some scrap and tyre puncture shops were also set ablaze in the area at night.

Locals said that nearly 800-900 families live in the slums on rent with most of them employed as garbage collectors, domestic workers, and housekeeping staff in nearby residential societies.

Nabeel Ahmad*, a native of West Bengal’s Dakshin Dinajpur who cleans cars for a living, said about 25 motorbikes with two-three men each came to the area around 11 a.m. on Tuesday and started thrashing people indiscriminately while asking for identity proofs.

“While most of them wielded sticks, some carried swords and guns. They asked for names and ID cards and started thrashing us, warning us to vacate by 4 p.m. or they would set the houses on fire,” said Mr. Ahmad, adding that the men thrashed women more. “Maybe they wanted to make a statement that even women will not be spared.”

He said even though the police came soon after, the mob returned around 5.30 p.m. “The police tried to disperse them but did not use any force,” he said.

Shabana Bibi, a domestic worker, said that about 8-10 families spent the night in a forested area close by.