On Thursday, 8th February, after an illegal madrasa and mosque built on government land in Banbhoolpura were demolished, a wave of violence swept through Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, leaving at least six people dead. Superintendent of Police Harbans Singh confirmed the same on 9th February. Uttarakhand authorities have registered three First Information Reports (FIR) against 5000 unnamed, and 19 known individuals. Furthermore, they have also detained over 50 persons in response to the violence.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, Prahalad Narayan Meena informed, “Several people have been taken into custody and miscreants are being identified and searched. The situation is under control and the local police force and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) have been deployed in the city. We have registered FIR, we are checking the CCTV footage, and evidence is being collected. A total of 1,200 security personnel have been deployed in Haldwani. Two more death cases have been reported today afternoon, the bodies were recovered yesterday. We are investigating how their deaths occurred. After post-mortem, we will get to know how they died. Four bodies were recovered after the riots took place.”
The names of the deceased have been revealed as Shabbad, Prakash Kumar, Mohammad Anas, Zahid, and Fayeem Qureshi. A magistrate has been posted in Banbhoolpura, where he is charged with separating the region into super zones, each supervised by a magistrate, and 1,200 security personnel have been deployed in an attempt to maintain peace.
The police disclosed that extensive searches are being conducted in Haldwani in pursuit of at least six young people who are believed to be guilty of making petrol bombs that were used in the violence. According to authorities, the accused removed gasoline from the parked two-wheelers to make bombs during the mayhem.
Seven wounded individuals, one of them a journalist, are receiving treatment in the city’s hospitals following the violence. Almost sixty injured people were admitted to hospitals and the majority were released following first aid. Police have been instructed to stay on guard around the clock in Dehradun, Haridwar, Ramnagar, and Udham Singh Nagar in case of any similar incidents.
Disturbing footage of stone-throwing and arson that are making the rounds on social media show how the Haldwani Municipal Corporation’s anti-encroachment campaign turned into horrifying violence. Curfew and shoot-on-sight orders were issued as a result of the violence.
Vandana Singh, the District Magistrate of Nainital, shared that the attack on the state apparatus was premeditated. She asserted, “No one provoked them (the mob), no one tried to harm them, no one tried to hurt them. Despite that, an unprovoked attack was attempted on the police personnel inside the police station. They were not let out. They (the mob) tried to burn them (the cops) alive.”
The entire state of Uttarakhand has been placed under high alert. Authorities in the region announced the imposition of a curfew and the directive to shoot protesters on sight while educational institutions remain closed in view of the violence.