Haldwani Violence: Understand the Sequence of Events Leading to Violence

By
Abhishek Bali
-
0
352
Haldwani violence
It was a pre-planned violence

The team that went to remove encroachment in Haldwani, Uttarakhand was targeted by the local people. Policemen were beaten, and Banbhoolpura police station was set on fire. Police vehicles, fire brigade van and many other vehicles were set on fire. Apart from this, journalists were also not spared. After this incident, people are now reacting on social media, and efforts are also being made to incite tension by sharing misleading information in this matter.

Radical Islamist Ali Sohrab while sharing a post on X wrote, India: After demolishing a mosque and a madrasa in Haldwani, Uttarakhand with a bulldozer, terming it illegal, the Constitutional Police brutally attacked unarmed Muslim women with sticks.

Propagandist Sadaf Afreen wrote, In Haldwani, the mosque was declared illegal and bulldozed. The people there got angry and started protesting! The women who came to protest were also beaten with sticks by the policemen! The atmosphere got worse in no time! Pushkar Singh Dhami has also ordered shoot at site, meaning he has ordered direct firing! Whatever is happening in the country is very wrong!

X handle Chandnii wrote, Listen to Sanatani people and their language while committing violence.

Propagandist Kashif Arsalaan wrote, Is it necessary to demolish mosque to make Hindu Nation?

In an another post Kashif Arsalaan wrote, Uttarakhand – The atmosphere deteriorated after police lathi charge on women who were peacefully protesting against bulldozing in Haldwani, Majid. There are reports of many police personnel getting injured along with the women who were protesting peacefully.

Fake News Peddler Wajid Khan wrote, So far, 6 Muslim men including a 16 year old minor Muslim boy have been murdered in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. Jani and her son Anas, Aris (16), faheem, Israr, and Siwan Remember this is happening in constitutional India.

Shams Tabrez Qasmi wrote, In Haldwani, Uttarakhand, despite the Supreme Court’s Saty order, a bulldozer was run on a mosque and a madrasa, when local Muslims protested, the police resorted to lathi charge, even women were not spared, then the atmosphere deteriorated and now shooter at site. An order has been given, three have also died in the firing. After all, what is the Uttarakhand government getting by doing all this? Is the agenda of this government only to harass the Muslims?

Propaganda handle Crime Reports India wrote, Hindutva administration in Haldwani demolition of Muslim religious orphanage (Madarsa) beats brutally peaceful protesting women. Shoot 6 Muslims.

What is the reality?

In our investigation, we saw that people on social media are against the demolition of madrasa and mosque, they do not consider it illegal. Also, the police are being held responsible for this riot. The administration is being called Hindutvavadi. So, this is why we decided to investigate these allegations.

We first found a report related to this matter on a website named Creative News Express published on January 30, 2024. According to the report, the Municipal Corporation pasted a notice regarding the removal of the illegal Namaz place building and the alleged Madrasa building under construction on Nazul land. It has been said in this notice that the Namaz place and Madrasa under construction on Nazul land in the Banbhoolpura Malik Ka Bagicha without permission should be removed by 1st February, failing which it will be demolished forcefully by the Municipal Corporation.

According to the report of Amar Ujala published on January 31, 2024, the Municipal Corporation and the administration team took action in Malik’s Bagicha for the third consecutive day. The Municipal Corporation took possession of the vacant plots there. They also sealed a boundary wall and a building under construction. During the removal of encroachment, local residents also protested against it. After this, Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Upadhyay and City Magistrate Richa Singh reached Malik ka Bagicha. Here they started taking possession of adjacent vacant plots. They started making pits around five empty plots with JCB and installing iron angles in them. After this the team reached a building under construction. When the papers regarding the buliding were asked, it was found that this land had been purchased on a stamp of Rs 50. Municipal Commissioner said that raw land in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani is being sold on stamp. Its price ranges from Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per square foot.

On February 1, when the encroachment was not removed, the administration issued a second notice on February 2. The report, in which this notice was published, states that a person named Abdul Malik has planned to illegally construct a building in the name of a so-called Madrasa on state government land. He intends to sell it by writing on stamp paper through platting on the government land. Due to this illegal encroachment, the administration has decided to remove it on February 4th.

According to the report published on February 3, 2024, the illegal madrassa and namaz place in Malik’s Bagicha will be demolished by the Municipal Corporation. Regarding this, a flag march was taken out by the police and administration from Banbhoolpura police station to Malik’s Bagicha so that peace and order is maintained. During this time, some women also expressed their protest during the flag march, who were explained by Police Station Banbhoolpura in-charge Neeraj Bhakuni that they should not create any hindrance between the administration and the police action because this action is being taken as per the rules. The women present there also had a mild altercation with the lady police constable. After which the women were explained with great difficulty.

After this we found a video on the YouTube channel of Haldwani live News. This video has been uploaded on 3 February 2024. In this report, Jamiat’s Nainital Sadar Mohammad Muqeem Kazmi told that people of the local Muslim community had met with the Municipal Corporation officials. In this video it was said that temples and mosques are a part of religion, they should not be demolished. People of Muslim community offer Namaz there, small children read Quran there. Therefore, notice has been given to remove a building that has been constructed. Mosque or madrasa is no one’s personal property. This is the house of worship of God, Allah. Our demand is that it should be kept in status quo. No matter what anyone does about encroachment, no one is being harmed by it.

A local resident Arshad Ayyub said that the action is being taken by the administration regarding encroachment and No man, no Ulema, no leader opposed it. The public and Ulemas are ready for the government to build hospitals and schools on whatever vacant land there is. We only say that the administration should give freehold to our mosque-madrasa. We are ready to give it’s money, the Muslim community is ready to give the money within 24 hours.

However, on February 4, the administration did not remove the encroachment. According to a report, the City Magistrate said in a press note that the action of demolition of two buildings constructed on government land in Banbhoolpura area is proposed by Municipal Corporation Haldwani on 04.02.2024. The representation is to be disposed of as per the orders of the Honorable High Court, Uttarakhand Nainital. Instructions have been given to the Municipal Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Haldwani to stop the demolition process until the disposal process is completed. At present, the administration has sealed both the buildings for demolition.

In the report of Amar Ujala, Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Upadhyay said that an application had come to him late in the night. In this application, the High Court order of 2007 was cited. Due to this order, the applications of some people have not been disposed of. These are to be disposed of by ADM Nazul. ADM has also sought reply from the Municipal Corporation in this matter. The answer will be given within two days. The final decision will be taken by the district administration.

City Magistrate Richa Singh said in her statement that both the buildings were sealed late in the night. She told that yesterday people in the Municipal Corporation were asked to show the documents related to the illegal Madrasa and Namaz place in Malik’s bagicha but no documents were shown by them. Late night a court notice was shown, which is being examined.

According to the report of Dainik Jagran, the door of the High Court was knocked before the bulldozer action on the mosque. A petition was filed in the High Court to ban the demolition of the mosque. A single bench of vacational Justice Pankaj Purohit had refused to grant any relief to petitioner Safia Malik and others. When the mosque side did not get any relief from the High Court, the Municipal Corporation started demolition work on the mosque-madrasa. The next hearing on this petition was fixed for February 14.

After this, on February 8, the administration reached the illegal encroachment site. Amar Ujala has told in its ground report that when the violence broke out, Vijendra Srivastava of Amar Ujala was also present there. When he saw this entire incident happening in front of him, he was stunned. He told that as soon as the team arrived, tension started increasing in the atmosphere, people started gathering from all sides. People were gathering on the terrace, the police had barricaded a place in front of the turn where the action was to take place, people were gathered there. Police also fought to get them to move away. The anger was increasing and when the police tried to push them away, pressure and sloganeering started from the other side as well. When JCB arrived amidst tension and started the demolition process, stone pelting started.

According to journalist Vijendra Srivastava, stone pelting was going on from two sides. A stone was about to fall on my face, but when I stopped it with my hand, my finger got swollen. After this, the miscreants intensified the attack and set on fire the vehicles parked on the main road through which they had come. 112 police jeeps were set on fire where they were standing. After this, stone pelting started from three sides. It was raining stones. There was no scope for escape. Many policemen were getting injured in front of me, the police’s efforts to rescue and respond were proving inadequate. In such a situation, everyone had a choice, to move away from the spot to save their lives. When they moved ahead, the unruly elements surrounded them and pelted them with stones. Many stones hit him in the back and legs. But there was no option other than running away. He staggered forward and called out to his companions.

Meanwhile, reporter friend Harish Pandey met ahead. When asked about his fellow photographer Rajendra Bisht, no one was found. After that they ran and hid in a tempo, then took shelter in a building. The sound of abuses and beatings was echoing everywhere. Once I felt that perhaps we would never be able to get out of here. Policemen also started getting frustrated after seeing the situation. There was uneasiness and worry everywhere.

Having reached further somehow, we requested water from a nearby house and then proceeded towards Bareilly Road. Here, police officers were urging their injured colleagues to quickly reach the hospital with makeshift bandages. They walked towards the hospital on foot from there. Information about the arrival of the injured was coming in. Meanwhile, there were discussions about attacking the Banbhoolpura police station. Chaos prevailed everywhere.

Upon reaching the base hospital and calling the photographer companion, it was revealed that they had been subjected to a lethal attack. He had an injury on his head, and blood was flowing. However, some kind individuals had safely secured them in a religious place. They were more saddened by not finding their camera and photos in it than the injury.

The photographer from Amar Ujala who went to cover the violence got severely injured. He sustained deep wounds to his head. In a report, the photographer Rajendra Singh Bisht said, “I reached Malik’s garden around four in the evening, where a large number of people were protesting. After a while, stone-pelting began from the rooftops. Chaos ensued, and the crowd started dispersing. The troublemakers caught hold of me and two-three policemen. They started beating us with sticks and pelting stones. I told them I am from the newspaper, but they didn’t listen. The violent mob was beating me badly. They pushed me into the fire. I felt like my life was ending. The crowd was shouting to kill me. I closed my eyes in fear. Meanwhile, two young men arrived. They recognized me somehow and pulled me towards the religious place. The troublemakers were still chasing me. Both the young men somehow managed to push me inside the religious place after opening the door. Meanwhile, the troublemakers snatched my camera. I went inside, and people closed the door. That’s when I realized my life was saved.

According to another report from Amar Ujala, the only main road to reach the location where the encroachment was being demolished is quite narrow, merely 10 feet wide. It is surrounded by dense population, with small alleys on all sides. As soon as the team arrived here, chaos erupted on the main road. After the team entered, opposition intensified from all sides. There are more than five narrow alleys in the area, making it difficult to determine from which alley the stones were coming and when. This was the reason why a large number of police officers and municipal workers were injured. Continuous stone-pelting occurred on the police officers from the rooftops of houses. Maneuvering through challenging alleys, the police officers somehow managed to reach the main road.

According to a report from Amar Ujala, during the disturbance in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani, more than 70 vehicles were set on fire, while several vehicles were vandalized. In the process, several years old records in the Banbhoolpura police station were also reduced to ashes. The troublemakers targeted over 70 vehicles, including three JCBs, two of which were rented by the municipality, and one belonged to the municipality. Additionally, eight vehicles from the municipality and a police jeep were set on fire. Two tractors from the municipality were also overturned and set ablaze on the road. Moreover, the troublemakers targeted more than 40 two-wheelers, setting them on fire as well. Throughout the narrow lanes of Banbhoolpura, two-wheelers were seen burning until late at night, with no one attempting to extinguish the flames, and the owners were unknown.

The team that went to demolish the encroachment faced stone-pelting from the rooftops of houses. Following this, the police aimed towards the houses from where the stones were being thrown, with the help of municipal employees breaking the doors. Police entered the houses and attempted to apprehend the stone-pelters, but the troublemakers managed to escape stone-pelters even from the police custody.

According to the NBT report, the troublemakers targeted journalists who had arrived to cover the incident. They set fire to more than half a dozen vehicles belonging to them. Even media personnel, who were leaving with police protection to ensure their safety, faced stone-pelting. Several journalists had their cameras vandalized, and some were admitted to the base hospital for treatment. In the turmoil, more than 12 journalists were injured.

According to the NBT report, during the unrest, the troublemakers surrounded SDM Kaladhungi Rekha Kohli. As a result, she had to hide behind a wall. Three to four police officers were seen trying to save SDM Kaladhungi. The information about the incident was reported to the headquarters. Subsequently, a large number of police personnel arrived, and they managed to rescue SDM Kaladhungi.

A woman constable injured in this violence told that stones were being pelted from every house and street and they were completely surrounded. She further said that they were trapped in a house and miscreants had set it on fire from outside. Stones were pelted and we barely escaped. The man who saved us was also abused. Their house and doors were broken.

On the following day of this violence, on February 9, 2023, in a press conference, Nainital DM Vandana Singh revealed that the troublemakers had placed stones on the rooftops. The stones were gathered on the roofs of houses. When the notice to remove the encroachment in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani was issued, there were no stones there at that time. After the issuance of the notice, the conspirators collected and placed the stones as part of their plan. She stated that the troublemakers executed the entire incident with a well-planned conspiracy. The violence was meticulously planned, and they intended to burn down the administration and police team alive. The DM mentioned that officials were not allowed to leave the police station; attempts were made to burn them alive. Vehicles were set on fire at the petrol pump. An attack was launched on the police station from the petrol pump. There was significant preparation for violence in Haldwani.

The DM has stated that this was not a communal incident, so it should not be construed as communal or sensitive. No specific community took retaliatory action. It was an attempt to challenge the state machinery, the state government, and law enforcement.

Conclusion: Our investigation clearly indicates that local residents in the Banbhoulpura area of Haldwani have forcibly occupied government land. Here, land is being sold at lower prices after plotting, and mosques and madrasas have also been constructed. People were instructed by the Municipal Corporation yesterday to show documents related to the madrasa and prayer areas, but they failed to provide any papers. Even during the meeting with the Municipal Corporation, leaders from the community and local residents did not claim ownership of the land. The administration did not take any sudden action, and notices have been consistently issued for the past approximately 10 days. The police administration conducted a flag march in the area, during which some people were creating a disturbance. However, when the administration started the process of removing the encroachment on February 8, the troublemakers attacked the police and journalists.

Also Read: Yet again, Pakistani Social Media users Spread Misinformation; Ladakh Protesters Advocate for Statehood, Not Separation from India

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR