AAP defends its leader Javed Ahmed in Nuh violence case, locals say he has history of triggering riots

An FIR filed in the brutal killing of Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar during the Islamist violence that convulsed Haryana on July 31, following an attack on a Hindu precession in the Nuh district, named Aam Aadmi Party leader (AAP) Javed Ahmed as the prime accused. Despite this, the AAP has stepped in to defend its leader, just as it did during the 2020 anti-Hindu riots in Delhi when it worked tirelessly to absolve its councillor Tahir Hussain of the charges against him.

OpIndia had earlier reported how ex-AAP councillor Tahir Hussain confessed in a disclosure statement that he chose his house as a launchpad for attacks on Hindus and led a mob of armed rioters. At that time, several Aam Aadmi Party leaders like Amanatullah Khan and Sanjay Singh initially tried to defend the tainted AAP leader Tahir Hussain by asserting that he is innocent.

Now, history seems to be repeating itself as the AAP has, in its attempt to defend Javed Ahmed, rejected the authenticity of the FIR filed against him.

Javed Ahmed is the State coordinator of the Aam Aadmi Party in Haryana. An FIR has been registered against him in connection with the murder of Bajrang Dal worker Pradeep Kumar in Sohna on July 31, 2023. However, Javed Ahmed claimed that he was 100 kilometres away from there at the time of the incident, hence the question of his involvement in the incident does not arise.

It may be recalled that Tahir Hussain had himself tweeted a plea for help during the riots that he was engineering. He had also made a video to paint an innocent picture of himself. He had claimed that he himself had made several calls to the PCR and thus, was a victim of violence himself. Several analysts had, however, called his video fake and heavily edited.

Now, coming back to the Nuh violence that was unleashed by Islamists on July 31, 2023, during the ‘Brij Mandal Jalabhishek Yatra,’ which was organized by Vishwa Hindu Parishad, the Islamists surrounded the ancient Shiva temple at Nalhar creating a hostage-like situation with as many as 2000-2500 Hindus, including women and children, trapped inside. The rioters kept spraying bullets from the hills surrounding the temple on three sides.

The situation was such that the frenzied Muslim mob even entered the hospital and beat up the patients. Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij also termed the Nuh violence a pre-planned attack. However, the question still at hand is where did the mob get such sophisticated weapons.

OpIndia’s sting operation on Javed Ahmed, know what locals said

OpIndia team while reporting from the ground, conducted a sting operation on Javed Ahmed and spoke to locals in Nuh. The locals spoke about Javed’s political clout and power and admitted to being petrified of him. One of the local residents said that though Javed Ahmed is 50 years old, he didn’t look his age because he works out regularly. Speaking about Javed Ahmed’s political affiliations, the man said that when Congress was at the helm in Haryana, he was closely associated with someone who was very close to Sonia Gandhi.

Speaking to OpIndia, these locals said that in the entire Sohna district of Haryana, no one even dares to speak a word against Javed Ahmed, such is the terror of the Aam Admi Party leader. He also spoke about Javed Ahmed’s involvement in the Nikita Tomar murder case, adding that the AAP leader is the uncle of Tauseef alias Sajeed, who was caught on camera shooting Nikita Tomar.

It may be recalled that in October 2020, a 21-year-old student named Nikita Tomar was shot dead in full public view by two men outside the Aggarwal College in Ballabgarh, Faridabad. The brutal murder made national headlines after CCTV footage of the murder emerged.

As the investigation into the case progressed, details of Tauseef’s political connections came to the fore.

OpIndia had then, in one of its reports on Nikita Tomar’s murder case detailed how Tauseef’s uncle Javed Ahmed had out rightly denied the allegations of Love Jihad and said that there was no angle of religious conversion in the matter. That time, Javed Ahmed had contested the election from Sohna on Bahujan Samaj Party’s ticket.

Speaking further about Javed Ahmed’s past criminal records and his modus operandi, the locals told OpIndia that Javed Ahmed was involved in a different, comparable riot that took place a few years back. They recalled how then too, rioters led by Javed Ahmed used the same Aravalli Hills to pelt stones and fire guns which they used during the recent Nuh unrest as well.

The local resident described how several dumpers use to start ply in the area just before each such incident happened. They lamented that Javed Ahmed was being able to escape police investigation and arrest due to his proximity with the Congress party. He said that Chaudhary Aftab Ahmed is Javed Ahmed’s uncle and said that the two were in direct touch with the Congress high command in Delhi.

The Nuh resident further informed our team how in the year 2009-10, when Congress was at the helm in Haryana, a master plan was prepared to develop the tehsil. During those days, illegal mining syndicates were operating very actively in Nuh. DSP Surendra Singh, who had gone to investigate illegal mining in Nuh, was brutally killed in July 2022, he said, adding that he was run over by a truck.

He further accused Javed Ahmed was being actively involved in this illegal mining scam, but only because of his political connections, his name has never emerged as an accused nor has he been caught, the local youth told OpIndia.

Further explaining how well-connected the AAP leader is, the local added that Javed Ahmed constantly assists local goons and criminals to evade arrests. If someone wishes to falsely accuse their rivals, they approach Javed Ahmed, who then assigns well-trained, gorgeous girls to lure them into honeytraps and artfully accuse them of being involved in the crimes.

Asserting that there has always been an outside MLA in Sohna, the local resident stated that although Gujjars run for office locally, they do not receive votes. Speaking about a Gujjar leader named Rohtas, he said that although Rohtas lives in the village of Rithos and has property worth Rs 350 crore, he chooses not to run for office.

He also acknowledged that the local Hindus in the Nuh neighbourhood are not united.

It may be recalled here that Javed Ahmed, who was booked for the brutal murder of a Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar, had denied his involvement in the crime by claiming that he was “100 km away” from the scene of the incident.

Hinting that the AAP leader had lied when he denied his presence during the Nuh violence, the local resident told us that Javed Ahmed claimed that he was in Punhana at the time when Islamists unleashed violence in Nuh, however, it would have taken him no longer than 20 to 25 minutes to travel via the Mumbai Expressway from the toll booth, from where his video emerged, to the scene of the incident, the local youth said.

Lamenting how if any other common man was involved in the violence instead of the AAP leader, he would have not only been arrested but also tortured, another local youth said that locals are confident that Javed Ahmed had a hand in the recent Nuh violence but they aren’t saying it out loud.

He added that he was certain that Javed Ahmed will run for the ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ in the 2024 assembly elections and win because the party exclusively offers tickets to such individuals.

Another local person who spoke to us said that he believes that the Nuh violence was devised to consolidate the scattered Muslim votes since until now Javed Ahmed has been in the second-thrid position and he wanted to cement his position as the front-runner for the upcoming elections.

The local youth then recalled a murder that had taken place 8–10 years earlier that included Javed Ahmed. Some AAP leaders, according to him, had travelled from Delhi to Sohna. At that time, a boy from the Gujjar community was killed near Child Point in Sohna, and Javed Ahmed was implicated and sent to jail. Later, when he was released, the AAP leaders welcomed him and carried him like a celebrity.

Speaking about the AAP leader’s previous antecedents, the locals wondered where the Islamists managed to procure the sophisticated weapons and how did they manage to collect the large quantities of stones on rooftops. They said that the Islamists shot from a distance of 100 to 200 metres, which certainly cannot be attained by using local arms and ammunition.

The local resident said that they are still apprehensive about venturing into the area where the violence happened, as they fear that it could happen again. Further describing it as a huge catastrophe, he said that along with the loss of life and property, businesses also suffered greatly. Calling it a well-planned conspiracy, he said that the local Islamists had sought the assistance of people from outside. He added that as many as 5000-7000 Rohingya Muslims had participated in the violence.

The local youth reiterated that Javed Ahmed’s boys were involved in the violence, adding that let alone pelting stones, people cannot even think of crossing the road in Nuh, Sohna and other adjoining areas without the AAP leader’s consent.

Locals asserted that a group led by Mamman Khan, Aftab Ahmed, and Javed Ahmed perpetrated these crimes as a sign of their continuous supremacy and to underscore it.

They added that recently locals came to know that the AAP leader had set up an entire colony in his own name. ‘Javed Colony’, as it is named, houses mostly criminals and goons, they said adding, that this unauthorized colony has been built illegally on government land.

Javed Ahmed is involved in all the incidents of violence that occur in Sohna: Locals tell OpIndia

While we were roaming around in the area we also interviewed a few autorickshaw drivers who also in unison said that they were absolutely sure that Javed Ahmed was involved in the Nuh violence because the AAP leader has always been involved in every act of violence that has transpired in Haryana’s Sohna district. They asserted that even though Javed’s name is being withheld owing to his political clout and influence, they know for sure that he had orchestrated the incident since whenever there is unrest in Sohna, Javed’s name always ranks first.

Meanwhile, a local resident of the Lakhwa village also reiterated the allegations levelled at the AAP leader by several other locals we spoke to. He too said that Javed Ahmed had set up a colony named ‘Javed Colony’. There are small houses and several brothels in the colony from where all the conspiracies are hatched.

Recalling the murder of a young boy in his colony two-three years ago, the local said that at that time the incident flared up. Stones were pelted. Seeing the rage in locals, there were rumours that Javed Ahmed would leave Sohna and go elsewhere but that did not happen. He added that Javed Ahmed was a very dangerous person for whom instigating riots and violence is no big deal.

It may be recalled that after an FIR was filed against AAP’s Javed Ahmed for the murder of a Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar, he denied his involvement in the crime. Speaking to news agency PTI, he said he has CCTV footage to back his claim. “I was 100 km away from Nuh, and the incident happened three hours after I left. I have the CCTV footage of the toll plaza I crossed. Allegations against me are to malign me and my party, it is political propaganda,” Ahmed told the news agency.

VIDEO | “I was 100 km away from Nuh, and the incident happened three hours after I left. I have the CCTV footage of the toll plaza I crossed. Allegations against me are to malign me and my party, it is political propaganda,” says AAP leader Javed Ahmed on charges of his alleged… pic.twitter.com/DK84bivLZR

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 6, 2023

In defence of AAP leader Javed Ahmed, the party fielded many of its leaders. AAP’s Senior Vice President Anurag Dhanda while giving clarification on the FIR lodged against Javed Ahmed, hit back at BJP.

He said, “The people of Haryana have started rejecting the BJP outright. That’s why BJP now wants to create a conspiracy and is working to divide society. Today the whole country knows who instigates riots and after that, they work to implicate other party leaders by filing false FIRs.”

Javed Ahmed’s hand in Pradeep Kumar’s murder

On August 4, OpIndia accessed the FIR filed in the brutal killing of Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar. Kumar was the third Hindu who fell prey to Islamist violence that convulsed Haryana on July 31 following an attack on a Hindu precession in the Nuh district.

The FIR was filed by Pawan Kumar, another Bajrang Dal activist who was accompanying Pradeep Kumar when he was attacked and killed. Pawan Kumar, in his complaint named one Javed Ahmed as the prime accused.

AAP leader Javed Ahmed led the Islamist mob which killed Pradeep Kumar during Nuh violence: What does the FIR say

Notably, the FIR filed in the Bajrang Dal activist Pradeep Kumar’s murder case, whom Islamists ruthlessly killed him on the intervening night of July 31 (Monday) and August 1 (Tuesday), while he was returning from the police station during the Nuh violence, the complainant, Pawan Kumar, stated that the mob had launched the vicious attack on Pradeep Kumar and other Bajrang Dal members accompanying him, on Javed Ahmed’s orders.

Pawan Kumar further stated that Javed Ahmed, who was leading the mob shouted- “Kill them all, I will take care of the consequences.”

“Responding to the clarion call made by Javed Ahmed, 20-25 Islamists armed with iron rods, stones, guns and other weapons rushed towards us and started thrashing us,” he added in the FIR.

Since the FIR only mentioned the name of the accused, OpIndia, in its effort to try and get some more information about him, spoke to the complainant Pawan Kumar.

Pawan Kumar confirmed to OpIndia that Javed Ahmed in no other than the Aam Aadmi Party leader from the Sohna constituency in Haryana. He said that he was the one who had orchestrated the crowd and instigated them to launch a murderous attack on Pradeep Kumar and other Bajrang Dal activists.

Pawan Kumar continued, “The Islamist mob responded to his clarion call and charged at us and other defenceless Hindus present there while shouting ‘Allah hu Abar’ and ‘Pakistan Zindabad’.”

When we asked Pawan Kumar if he was certain that the AAP leader was leading the Islamists, he responded in the affirmative. He claimed that he recognises him very well since he has often seen him and his family members moving around through the lanes of Haryana’s Sohna district.

As many as six people have been killed in the violence which gripped Haryana’s Nuh on July 31. The Haryana Police has arrested 116 people involved in the riots which spilt over into Palwal, Faridabad and Gurugram after stones were pelted by an Islamic mob on a Yatra by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).

The consolidated list of 7 FIRs revealing how rioters targeted police during Nuh violence can be read here. OpIndia’s complete coverage of the Mewat Shobha Yatra Attack can be checked here.