On Thursday, February 8, a murderous Muslim mob attacked police personnel and Municipal Corporation officials who went to demolish an illegally constructed structure which some labelled as a madarsa while some a namaz place in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. As many as 4 people have been reported dead so far and over 300 police personnel have been injured in the violence.
Several videos emerged showing Islamists pelting stones, shooting guns, and indulging in rampant arson and violence. There are testimonies from police officials which claim that the Muslim mob wanted to set them on fire.
Despite knowing the fact that it was the police personnel and local civic authorities who fell prey to the wrath of the Muslim mob, Haldwani Congress MLA Sumit Hridayesh has shockingly gone on to blame the Uttarakhand authorities for the violence.
Following the Thursday incident, the Congress MLA took to X to share a video of himself speaking to the media from the hospital. In the video, the Congress leader can be heard sort of defending the Muslim mob while he accuses the authorities of acting in haste.
Despite knowing that the authorities were carrying out the demolition in compliance with the High Court directives, the Congress MLA is heard saying, “There has been a major lapse from the civic officials’ side. The people who approached the court against the demolition were given time until the 14th, but the officials acted in haste. It was best if they had first gained the confidence of the Maulana. They showed up abruptly and executed the task in such haste.”
अस्पताल में सम्मानित मीडिया बंधुओ से वार्ता। @INCUttarakhand pic.twitter.com/NP6TqRiKTS
— Sumit Hridayesh (@SumitHridayesh) February 8, 2024
Though later in the video, he condemns the incident, on the face of it, the Congress MLA seemed to be defending the Muslim mob that committed the violence by implying that the authorities had acted in haste without seeking approval from the maulanas in the area which compelled the Muslim mob to respond in the way they did.
While the Congress MLA wants people to believe that the action taken by the civic authorities was not according to the law, the truth is that the officials had sent a notice to the management of the madarsa informing them that the structure had been illegally built near the Banbhulpura police station. The madrasa management, in turn, could not furnish any documents substantiating that the structure was not illegally constructed. Moreover, the Corporation had previously seized three acres of land near the site of the illegal madarsa and namaz place. These structures were demolished on Thursday.
Speaking about the demolition of the illegally constructed structure on government land in the Banbhulpura area, Nainital DM confirmed that this was done in compliance with the High Court orders and that everyone was given notice and time for a hearing.
“After the HC’s order action has been taken against encroachment at various places in Haldwani…Everyone was given notice and time for hearing…Some did approach the HC some were given time while some were not given time. Where time was not given demolition drive was conducted by PWD & Municipal Corporation. This was not an isolated activity and was not targeted to a particular asset…”
#WATCH | Haldwani violence | DM Nainital, Vandana Singh says, "…After the HC's order action has been taken against encroachment at various places in Haldwani…Everyone was given notice and time for hearing…Some did approach the HC some were given time while some were not… pic.twitter.com/pO1K4BjN9C
— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2024
It is to be noted here that a Malik Colony resident named Safia Malik and others had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on 6 February 2024 seeking a stay on demolition of the said madarsa and mosque and challenged the notice given by the Haldwani Municipal Corporation to the petitioners. On Thursday (8th February) the Uttarakhand High Court held a hearing on the PIL. The vacation bench of Justice Pankaj Purohit refused to grant relief to the petitioners in the matter. The next hearing is scheduled for 14th February.
After the hearing, the court didn’t make any comment on the matter. The order just said, “List this matter on 14.02.2024”.
After the court did not grant relief to the petitioners seeking a stay on the demolition exercise, the local police and the Haldwani Municipal Corporation team led by Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Upadhyay, City Magistrate Richa Singh, and SDM Paritosh Verma, utilized heavy machinery, including a JCB machine, to raze the illegal structure located in Malik’s garden under the Banbhulpura area of Haldwani.
The irate mob, however, responded by pelting stones at the authorities and setting police vans on fire.
Notably, after the incident took place, the DM of Nainital category explained that the violence was pre-planned and that the Islamists had decided that the day the authorities came to demolish the structure following the High Court order, they would indulge in violence against them. She also explained how there were multiple mobs and after the initial mob pelting stones was pushed back by the police, another emerged with petrol bombs. She further explained how there was an attempt to burn police officers alive.
#WATCH | Haldwani violence | DM Nainital, Vandana Singh says, "The demolition drive started peacefully, the force was deployed for prevention…Stones were pelted on our Municipal Corporation's team…It was planned that the day the demolition drive will be conducted the forces… pic.twitter.com/JL098EatbW
— ANI (@ANI) February 9, 2024
Further, the police also confirmed that there were no stones on rooftops in Haldwani up until the 30th of January. It was after the 30th of January, while the case of the illegal Madrasa was being heard in the High Court, did the Muslims started collecting stones and petrol bombs on their rooftop.
Despite all this information being available on the public platform, the Congress MLA went on to defend the Islamists who committed unrestrained violence that resulted in over 300 police personnel being gravely injured. His reaction was, however, not at all shocking. It was, after all, coordinated with those of the leftist media and the Jihadi online mob, which, as soon as word of the violence spread, began to provide cover for these on-ground Jihadis.
