At least four people killed and more than 60 were injured in the violence that erupted following the destruction of a madrasa and neighboring mosque in Uttarakhand’s Banbhoolpura region of Haldwani district.
Uttarakhand Tense as Curfew Imposed Amidst Clashes
On Thursday, a curfew was enforced and internet services were blocked in the region after local residents battled with security forces, threw stones at them, and set fire to vehicles and a police station.
According to Uttarakhand’s Director General of Police, the crowd surrounded the police station and more personnel were brought in to repel them. In response to the tensions, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami convened a high-level conference and issued instructions to kill protesters on sight, a resident said the area is on edge and they can “hear teargas and gunshots being fired”.
Violence Erupts During the anti-encroachment drive in Haldwani
According to sources who spoke with news agency PTI, the majority of those hurt in the assault were police officers. They alleged the remaining were municipal personnel working on the destruction of the local madrasa and mosque complex. They further mentioned that Haldwani SDM was among those injured.
Violence ensued as local authorities used bulldozers to demolish the mosque and madrasa, which were purportedly erected on Nazool territory. DGP Abhinav Kumar stated that police and administrative officials had gone to the area to remove an unlawful encroachment that had previously been litigated in the High Court and had been ordered removed. Shakeel Ahmad, Councillor of Ward Number 31, in where the incident occurred, informed The Indian Express that the High Court has not issued a final order on removing unlawful encroachment.
“Some miscreants started stone pelting and violence. The exact sequence of events that led to this kind of situation is a matter of administrative inquiry. We will check what was the cause for this kind of public anger, and if there is some conspiracy, we will look into it,” stated Kumar.
