Five persons died and over 100 police personnel were injured in the Banbhoolpura village near the town of Haldwani in Uttarakhand as violence erupted after a madrasa was demolished in an anti-encroachment drive, ANI reported.
Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) AP Anshuman confirmed the deaths of the five persons and the injuries to the police personnel, according to The Indian Express.
District authorities issued shoot-at-sight orders against those engaged in violence. A curfew has also been ordered in the area and mobile internet services have been suspended.
On Thursday, municipal authorities demolished a madrasa that was allegedly built illegally on government land and an adjoining mosque. Local residents then threw stones at the police and set vehicles on fire. The police hurled tear gas shells and baton-charged the protestors to control the violence.
Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said that the anti-encroachment drive was carried out at 4 pm on Thursday following a court order. “Coming out against the drive, a few miscreants threw stones at the officials and also indulged in arson,” he said. “It was also alleged that they opened fire at the police using illegal firearms.”
Nainital District Magistrate Vandana Singh said that some members of the mob threw petrol bombs at the Banbhoolpura police station and set fire to some vehicles outside it.
The district magistrate said that the demolition was carried out as per a High Court order. She said that it was not an “isolated activity and was not targeted at any particular property”, ANI reported
“Everyone was given notice and time for hearing,” Singh said. “...Some did approach the High Court. Some were given time while some were not given time.”
Local councillor Shakeel Ahmad said that the High Court had not given a final decision on removing the encroachments, The Indian Express reported.
“The next date of hearing was February 14 and when the administration came, we requested them to stop until then,” he said. “We said that we will not stop the administration from demolishing the structure if the court decision is against us. But they did not listen.”
The neighbourhood had been tense since January 30, when civic authorities issued an order to demolish the structures.
Local religious and political leaders later held talks with authorities to call off the demolition. Around 1:30 am on February 4, the municipal corporation sealed the mosque, but did not demolish it. However, on Thursday, bulldozers reportedly showed up without any prior notice.
Ziyauddin Qureshi, Lok Sabha in-charge of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s minority cell, Uttarakhand, told Scroll that the mosque was 20–25 years old.
On February 3, the BJP’s minority cell had written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami demanding that the madrasa and mosque not be demolished.
Last year as well, Banbhoolpura had witnessed protests when the High Court ordered the eviction of 50,000 people in response to a public interest litigation claiming that the locality had come up illegally on railway land. The Supreme Court stayed the High Court order, stating that 50,000 people could not be displaced in a week.
Also read: ‘Our homes are not illegal’: After sleepless nights, Haldwani residents welcome Supreme Court stay
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