Days After Violence in Haldwani, A Fact-Finding Committee Reveals Staggering Details of a State Engulfed in Hatred
Image Source: Muslim Mirror
It’s been over a week, and residents of Haldwani are still reeling from the disastrous effects of the violence that took place, which claimed over 6 lives and left more than 100 injured. Two days ago, a group of human rights activists called the ‘Association for Protection of Civil Rights (ACPR)’ conducted a press conference and released a report named ‘Bulldozing Peace: State Violence & Apathy in Muslim Sentiments of Haldwani’. The report asserts that this was not an isolated event, as communal tensions had been brewing for years, exacerbated by various factors, including the celebration of the demolition of 300 mazars in the state, social and economic boycotts of marginalized communities, eviction from rented homes and shops, and the hateful narrative propagated by CM Dhami regarding alleged “land & love jihad”.
The situation was peaceful until the day of demolition. Locals hadn’t expressed outrage over the sealing of the mosque and the madarsa on Feb 4th, as the High Court had intervened and announced a next hearing date on the issue. The matter escalated when the municipal authority, backed by the police, barged in with bulldozers and proceeded with the demolition, despite the issue still being sub-judice or pending before the court.
The dispute originally stems from a land conflict between the state government and the residents, which the government claims as ‘Nazul land’ (land allotted by the government on lease for a fixed period between 15-99 years) that was encroached upon. Actions were taken in contravention of High Court orders, and the matter is now pending in the Supreme Court, which has ordered a stay on the eviction. Apart from the government’s claims, the Indian Railways also calls for the eviction of the residents who they allege have illegally settled on their land.
Despite the matter being scheduled to be heard on February 14 by the Uttarakhand High Court bench, the municipality and the police went ahead with the demolition. Sofia Malik, the caretaker of the madarsa, claimed she was the rightful lessee of the land in question and had received a next hearing date.
According to the report, the pleas of the local residents were glossed over by the police, who beat and dragged several women and men who resisted the demolition drive, prompting stone-pelting by the locals and subsequently by the police authorities. All of this eventually led to shoot-at-sight orders by the authorities as the situation worsened, instead of resorting to less lethal measures like tear gas shells, pellet guns, and water cannons. The report further claims that since the locality consists of low-wage earners, the complete shutdown of the area is causing economic difficulties for the people.
The report goes so far as to say that the police have set up a school as a detention centre where many individuals, including those who were not even present in the riot-torn area, are being held captive. The police denied these allegations and said the “school is going on as usual as they are conducting board exams and tests”.
“The violence caused the deaths of seven individuals. 31 people have been arrested so far, and over 90 detained for questioning. An unnamed FIR has been registered against 5000 individuals, and locals claim the death toll is higher than 20,” says the report.
After a driver named Faheed and a father-son duo, Mohd. Zahid & Anas, were killed, another death was reported when Mohd Israr died due to his injuries on the 13th, bringing the death toll to 6. According to the Quint, a statement made by the DM that leaders of the community had their phones switched off prior to the demolition was denied by them, saying “80 leaders cannot have their phones turned off at the same time”.
There are some substantial questions that the report poses, such as why the authorities were so eager to destroy the mosque and madarsa, why a journalist named Saleem Khan and his wife and children were harassed and injured by the police, and why the Muslim community was not trusted when they had abided by the decision previously.
The team of this report submitted their interim report based on the evidence they gathered from civil society members, journalists, lawyers, and a few victims from the incident. Members of the team include Harsh Mander, Nadeem Khan, Mohd. Mobashshir, Zahid Qadri, Ashok Sharma, Navsharan Singh, and Kumar Nikhil.
Team Profile
- News Writer
- Rahul Tiwari, a law student, possesses a keen interest in politics, movies, music, and the pop culture landscape. Equipped with an unyielding spirit for writing, he navigates through his diverse interests with enthusiasm and dedication.
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