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Haldwani remains tense after clash, toll rises to 5
Five people have been killed in violence in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, following the demolition of an allegedly illegal madrasa, as tensions continue to simmer in the town. The clashes occurred after the Uttarakhand assembly passed a Uniform Civil Code Bill, which replaces religious personal laws. The violence erupted as bulldozers demolished the 20-year-old madrasa, leading residents to set fire to vehicles and a police station, as well as hurling stones. Authorities have stressed that the situation is now under control, and four people have been arrested.
Five people have been killed in the violence in Haldwani in Uttarakhand, officials said on Friday, a day after the demolition of an allegedly illegal madrasa snowballed into clashes between protesters and police personnel, even as security forces administered a strict curfew, while district officials claimed Thursday’s hostilities were engineered and “planned in advance”.
Authorities arrested four people and named 19 people in three FIRs on Friday, as they stressed that there was no fresh violence and that the situation was under control. Tensions, however, simmered in the town of 200 thousandpeople, roughly 260km southeast of the state’s winter capital Dehradun, as locals said the demolitions flew in the face of court orders.
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, meanwhile, held a review meeting in Dehradun and warned of action against people responsible for the violence.“Every rioter who indulged in arson and stone pelting is being identified… no one who disturbs harmony and peace will be spared...” he said.
The district administration identified the victims as Faeem Qureshi, Zahid, Mohammad Anas, Shabban , and Prakash Kumar, all residents of Banbhoolpura , where the violence broke out. Over 150 people injured in the clash were being treated in hospitals, said officials. Three of them are critical.The violence occurred a day after the Uttarakhand assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, which seeks to replace religious personal laws that govern marriage, relationship and inheritance, becoming the first state in India to do so.
The clashes erupted around 5pmon Thursday, when bulldozers razed the madrasa in Banbhoolpura, which civic authorities alleged was illegally built on state government (“nazool”) land.As workers from the Haldwani Municipal Corporation and Nainital administration razed the20-year-oldstructure, residents of the area set afire several vehicles, a police station and hurled stones at the demolition team as well as police personnel, according to police.
The Uttarkhand high court had on February 8refused to stay a petition that locals had filed against the sealing and demolition order issued on January 30, fixing February 14 for the next hearing.
ZA Warsi, a resident of Haldwani alleged, “The administration sealed the structure and arbitrarily and hastily went ahead with the demolition. It led to a confrontation.”
Nainital DM Vandana said, “The concerned party had sought a stay on the notice of demolition from the Uttarakhand high court. But, the high court refused to grant any stay.”
Meanwhile, police personnel who were at the spot alleged that people inside the colony started firing at them while they tried to make their way to the madrasa; residents said that tensions spiraled after a heated argument with administration officials over the demolition.“Police fired back in self defence and issued shoot-at-sight orders on Thursday,” said AP Anshuman, additional director general of police, law and order.
As the violence escalated and subsumed much of the town, district officials also clamped down on mobile internet services and imposed a curfew at9pm on Thursday. Both restrictions continued to remain in place on Friday.
Nainital district magistrate Vandana Singh alleged that the violence was “pre-planned” and said locals collected stones in piles and kept them on rooftops before the demolitions began.
She said:“It was a pre-planned attack. Stones had been collected before the action over the rooftops. Petrol bombs were also used during the incident.”
Residents, however, refuted this claim and said the administration was not willing to heed their requests to postpone the demolition till the matter is heard in court.
Shakeel Ahmed, a local councillor said, “The high court was yet to give its final order ... We had requested the administration to wait until the HC passes a final judgment. But they went ahead which caused anger among public.”Nainital senior superintendent of police (SSP) Prahlad Narayan Meena said they have registered three first information reports in connection with the violence. “Four people have been arrested and another 15-20 people who provoked the crowd and incited violence have been identified using CCTV footage,” he said.
Uttarakhand director general of police Abhinav Kumar, meanwhile, said they will file cases under the stringent National Security Act against those who attacked police personnel and “were responsible for arson and vandalism in Haldwani”.
He also said the police will recover the cost of damages to public property from the accused. “The situation has been brought under control to a large extent, but efforts are focused on bringing back normalcy in the town,” DGP said.
CM Dhami, meanwhile, met senior officials from administration and police in Dehradun.
The chief minister said police have been given clear instructions to deal “strictly with unruly elements and rioters”.
He also apprised state governor lieutenant general (retired) Gurmeet Singh about the situation. Opposition political parties accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government of failing to control law and order and of seeking to polarise voters in the hill state.
Uttarakhand Congress chief Karan Mahara demanded an investigation by a sitting high court judge. “If the case was to be heard on February 14, why was the demolition being done and why were the lives of police personnel and people put in danger? The government is responsible for the incident,” Mahara said.Hitting back, Uttarakhand BJP president Mahendra Bhatt said those doing politics of supporting illegal occupations need to change their perspective in the interest of the state.”Everyone knows that action is being taken against illegal encroachments in the state as per the instructions of the court,” he said.
