Six rioters were killed and more than 100 people, including police personnel and mediapersons, were injured in the Haldwani violence which erupted in Bhanbhoolpura area after an illegally built madrasa was razed by authorities on February 8.
Haldwani Violence: Fourteen more people were arrested Saturday, taking the number of people held so far to 58 in in connection with the Haldwani riots which erupted after an “illegally built” madrasa with an adjoining prayer area was demolished by district authorities on February 8.
According to the police, those arrested on Saturday include Shakeel Ansari, Maukeen Saifi and Zia ul Rahman whose posters were among the nine named accused put up on Friday across the town seeking information from the public on their whereabouts.
‘Mastermind’ Abdul Malik’s property attached
A senior police official said that the properties of alleged mastermind, Abdul Malik, and his son Abdul Moid, are being attached. However, Malik, who allegedly masterminded the February 8 riots, and his son Moid, are still on the run and efforts are underway to nab the father-son duo, he said,
Earlier, a non-bailable warrant and a lookout notice were issued against Malik and his son. Subsequently, posters of nine named accused, including the father-son duo, were pasted across the town on Friday.
As per the police, Malik had got the madrassa built “illegally” and had vehemently opposed its demolition.
His wife Safia Malik had moved the High Court seeking suspension of the demolition exercise but failed to get immediate relief.
It is alleged that Malik had incited violence in Banbhoolpura on February 8 that left six people dead and more than 100 injured.
Haldwani Violence
Violent protests broke out on February 8 over the demolition of an illegally built madrassa in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani, with locals hurling stones and petrol bombs at municipal workers and police, forcing many police personnel to seek refuge at a police station, which the mob then set on fire.
In the violence, six rioters were killed and more than 100 people, including police personnel and mediapersons, were injured, according to the police.
Jamiat demands compensation, jobs for kin of slain ‘innocents’
Meanwhile, prominent Muslim body Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind on Saturday demanded that that the state government give adequate compensation and jobs to the families of “innocent people” killed in the Haldwani violence.
Accusing the Uttarakhand Police of “brutality” against Muslims in Haldwani, Maulana Arshad Madani said the situation in the country at this time are “very dangerous” as efforts are being made to incite and marginalise the Muslim community.
“Efforts are being made not only to incite Muslims by creating a new conflict but also to marginalize them. But despite all this, the patience and forbearance shown by Muslims is unparalleled,” Madani, who heads one faction of the Jamiat grouping, said in his address of the Jamiat working committee.
Condemning the “brutality and cruelty” of the police in Haldwani, Madani said the Uttarakhand government should give adequate compensation and jobs to the families of the “innocent people” who he alleged were killed in police action.
He also demanded strict legal action against the police personnel who he alleged fired “indiscriminately” on the crowd.
(With PTI inputs)