OpIndia has accessed the exclusive video of the Haldwani violence that rocked the state of Uttarakhand on 8th February 2024. In the visuals, the Muslim mob can be seen assaulting a lone Hindu man before the gruesome violence erupted in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura area. A man wearing a green T-shirt is seen in the mob. It is being claimed that his brother Faheem Qureshi (26) also died in the firing that took place during the Haldwani violence. While some people are carrying out smear campaigns against the Police, eyewitnesses have shared the details of the incident which reveal otherwise.
In the video accessed by OpIndia, Faheem Qureshi can be seen waving at the police. His brother was part of the mob that assaulted the Hindu youth. During our ground report, an eyewitness shared details about the incident. A youth from the Dalit community in Gandhi Nagar said, “Anyone’s bullet did not kill the one who died. What happened was that when he was firing, he got hit by his own bullet.”
Attached is the video of the eyewitness, here is what he has revealed about the incident.
In addition to the eyewitness statement, OpIndia has obtained the video of Faheem Qureshi mentioned by the eyewitness. The footage shows a man in a yellow shirt initially standing in the middle of the road with the mob, later moving to the side. As the police pass by, he can be seen waving at them and making challenging gestures. Subsequently, the rest of the crowd turns their attention towards the police.
Haldwani violence
On 8th February, the civic authorities in Haldwani went to demolish an illegal madrasa built on government land in Banbhoolpura when a Muslim mob attacked them. It resulted in a wave of violence across Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, leaving at least six people dead and over 300 police personnel injured. 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. As the administration is taking action against the mobsters, intellectuals and left-liberals have come out in support of the encroachers-turned-rioters who attacked the police personnel on an eventful day.
It is pertinent to note that the action by the police municipal corporation authorities against the illegal construction on government land was taken after the Uttarakhand High Court on 8th February, did not grant relief to the petitioners Safia Malik and others seeking a stay on the demolition exercise.
After controlling the rioting crowd, the police started taking action and 30 accused have been arrested so far in this case.