Tensions persist in Indian business hub Gurugram after Hindu-Muslim clashes

Traffic was lighter than usual and some streets deserted in the Gurugram business hub south of the Indian capital Delhi as authorities said the death toll from two days of Hindu-Muslim clashes in the region had mounted to seven.

The violence erupted during a religious procession by Hindus in the Muslim-dominated Nuh district on Monday, resulting in the death of four people, including two police personnel, and around 60 people were injured.

By Wednesday morning, two more civilians had succumbed to injuries, officials said.

The unrest spread to neighbouring Gurugram on Monday night and continued through Tuesday, with a mosque being set on fire and its cleric killed, and several shops and eateries being vandalised or torched.

"The conspirators (behind the clashes in Nuh) are being continuously identified. A total of 116 people have been arrested so far," Manohar Lal Khattar, the chief minister of Haryana state where Gurugram is located, said on Wednesday.

Security forces on alert

Gurugram hosts dozens of multinational companies, including Google, Deloitte and American Express, in a district about 10 km (6 miles) from the nearest violence. It was not immediately known if they were open or whether staff had come to work.

While schools in most of the area were permitted to reopen from Wednesday, several institutions opted to suspend physical classes and move online amid concerns for safety.

Police officials, however, said the situation was "normal" and all educational institutions and offices were operating as usual. However, orders banning the congregation of four or more people in public remained in force.

Security forces were also on alert for planned protests by Hindu nationalist groups, including in the capital Delhi.

"Additional forces have been deployed in the district and we are closely monitoring the situation," said Subhash Boken, a spokesperson for Gurugram Police.

Clashes between India's majority Hindus and minority Muslims break out occasionally, a sign of a deeply polarised country that India has become since its independence in 1947.

In 2020, over 50 people were killed in religious clashes in northeastern Delhi, the worst sectarian violence in the capital in decades. The trigger for the riots was a citizenship law introduced by the government the previous year that critics say marginalises Muslims.