On Monday (12th February), a Muslim Peace Committee held a meeting with Nainital SSP Prahlad Narayan Meena and DM Vandana Singh at Haldwani Nagar Nigam. The peace meeting comes just days after a Muslim mob attacked the teams of local police and Haldwani Municipal Corporation after they demolished a madarsa built on illegally encroached government land.
During the meeting, DM Vandana Singh reportedly said that the rioters would not be spared. She also asked the Muslim representatives to provide information about the rioters if they knew anything about them. The DM Nainital further added that the sooner the rioters are arrested, the sooner peace will be restored in the riot-affected area including relaxation in the curfew.
The city Imam Mohammad Azam Qadri, who attended the Peace Committee meeting, however, claimed that the police and administration should not ‘harass’ innocent people and that the curfew should be lifted. He stated that the rioters should be given strict punishment. However, Qadri alleged that the Nainital DM and administration did not talk to the city Imam and other prominent Muslim representatives during the incident in Haldwani.
Meanwhile, the Haldwani Municipal Corporation on Monday issued a recovery notice of Rs 2.44 crore against Abdul Malik, a key accused in the violence at Haldwani, asking him to deposit the money to cover damage caused to government property during the clash.
The initial assessment of the loss allegedly caused by Malik was pegged at Rs 2.44 crore, the civic body said, asking him to deposit this amount in the Municipal Corporation, Haldwani by February 15.
In the notice, the officials stated that Malik’s supporters attacked the team that had gone to carry out the demolition drive in ‘Malik Ka Bagicha’ and damaged the properties of the municipal corporation. The notice also mentioned the FIR lodged on the day of the incident on February 8 in which Malik has been named.
Police have said that Malik was behind the “illegal constructions” at the Nazool land and that he also led the protests against the demolition.
On Monday, the Haldwani Municipal Corporation, in a notice to Malik, said, “By attacking the teams of police and administration, your supporters have damaged, destroyed, and looted… properties of the Municipal Corporation and caused loss of government property. The above fact is confirmed by an FIR in which you have been named as an accused… According to the preliminary assessment, you have caused a loss of approximately Rs 2.44 crore by causing the incident in a planned manner.”
The letter informed further that Malik was expected to deposit the said amount in favour of Municipal Corporation Haldwani by February 15. The amount included Rs 2.41 crore for damage to 15 vehicles and Rs Rs 3.52 lakh for damage to equipment.
As many as 30 people have been arrested, including 25 in the latest wave of apprehensions, in connection with Thursday’s violence in the Haldwani city of Nainital. The names of the arrested accused are- Junaid, Mohammad Nizam, Mehboob alias Maku, Shahzad alias Kanakada, Abdul Majid, Shajid, Mohammad Naeem, Shahnawaz, Shakir Ahmed, Isharar Ali, Shanu alias Raja, Raees alias Bitt, Gulzar, Raees Ahmed, Farid, Javed, Saad, Tasleem, Ahmed Hasan, Shahrukh, Arjana, Rihan, Jishan, Muzammil, Majid.
The clashes and violence left five people dead and dozens injured, the police said on Sunday. Several countrymade weapons and live rounds were recovered from those arrested, the police said. Violence erupted on Thursday after the administration conducted an anti-encroachment drive in Banbhoolpura. After stone-pelting incidents, torching of vehicles and a mob surrounding the local police station, the administration issued a shoot-at-sight order.
According to an Indian Express report, Abdul Malik was last year providing free legal assistance to the illegal encroachers occupying the Indian Railways land in Haldwani. Malik provided free-of-cost legal aid to the families who were served an eviction notice in Banbhoolpura after the Uttarakhand High Court’s order. The report quotes high court lawyer Ahrar Malik as saying that Abdul Malik’s free legal assistance to such families provided him with huge public sympathy.
(With inputs from ANI)