On 8th February, the Islamist mob launched a vicious attack on the administration team that had reached Banbhoolpura in Nainital’s Haldwani to demolish an illegal mosque and madrasa. The Islamist mob not only torched the police station and petrol pump, but also attempted to burn the Policemen alive.
Women police officers were seen fleeing in distress after the mob misbehaved with them, and their clothes were torn apart. There was stone pelting accompanied with gunfire. Apart from ordinary people and police, the mob even targeted journalists who had earlier reported stories in their favour.
Rajendra Singh Bisht of the ‘Amar Ujala’ newspaper is one of the journalists who was attacked on that day. OpIndia met with the injured journalist to learn about the events that unfolded on Thursday (8th February 2024). An attempt was made to burn Rajendra Singh Bisht alive in the fire. He explained that it was his day off, but around 3:30 PM, he received a call from the office asking him to quickly reach the garden in Malik colony. There, he saw that the illegal madrasa and mosque had been sealed by the police, and the administration was about to demolish it.
Rajendra Singh Bisht told OpIndia that the protest started when the Municipal Corporation team reached there which was covered by the media. He said that at that very moment, arson started from all sides, and the journalists were trapped in the middle. Then stone pelting started, and tear gas shells were also fired. He said that he and his colleague were surrounded when they were returning from the place. They were attacked with stones and beaten with sticks. Rajendra Singh Bisht further told OpIndia that he was thrown into a drain later.
While narrating his ordeal, Bisht said that after that, he was thrown into the burning fire. According to Rajendra Singh Bisht, his head was bleeding profusely, and he was unconscious, so he could not identify the attackers. The rioters also snatched his camera. He mentioned that the sound of gunfire could also be heard. He called his editor and informed him about the incident, then he started getting calls from his acquaintances. With the help of a BJP leader, Bisht somehow came out through the streets.
Rajendra Singh Bisht has a fractured finger. He mentioned that bricks and stones were being pelted at their heads from close range, and the attackers also included small children. Bisht has a wife and two sons in his family. He stated that he had lost hope of getting out of that situation and started chanting God’s name. He said that such incidents had not happened here before, and now even journalists were being attacked.
Rajendra Singh Bisht said, “Whenever there was any event, we used to cover it well. Earlier, we used to stay overnight to provide extensive coverage. We used to show the suffering of everyone, look at the newspaper files. Whatever happened was beyond our expectations. It was something we had not imagined. Almost all the journalists present were beaten.”
Meanwhile, another journalist mentioned that last year when the court ordered the removal of encroachments, they stood with the Muslim community of Banbhoolpura.
The said journalist told OpIndia that the attackers selectively singled out Hindus among journalists, Municipal Corporation officials and police personnel, and conspiracy was hatched to kill them. He said that if the Hindus of Gandhinagar had not saved them, no one would have survived. These are the words of ‘DNN News’ journalist Pankaj Agarwal. He stated that as soon as the JCB arrived, stone pelting started and vehicles were torched by throwing petrol bombs. Agarwal suffered injuries to his leg and had to undergo treatment. He stressed that if he hadn’t worn a helmet, the situation would have been worse.
An Amar Ujala journalist was thrown into the fire by rioters of Haldwani. They wanted to burn him alive.
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) February 12, 2024
A local journalist told us that he was attacked because he is Hindu. Muslim journalists were unharmed
Revealing layers of #HaldwaniRiots @STVRahul ground report soon pic.twitter.com/ddlbkFyEvn
He said that he had published favourable news for these same people so that the government does not cause any harm to them. Pankaj Agarwal said that there was a conspiracy to target only Hindus. He said that Hindu journalists and sanitation workers were identified and targeted. Pankaj stated that both policemen and journalists were being systematically attacked. Both the journalists said that they were assaulted by the same people for whom they had reported positive news last year.
Earlier, OpIndia spoke to Pankaj Saxena, the injured journalist of ‘HNN News’ who had come to the hospital for treatment. He revealed that the Islamist mob was targeting people after asking their names, and those with Muslim names were being spared and not subjected to violence. Saxena has fractures in his hands and feet. While his foot is plastered, his hand has been bandaged. He was injured in the violence that took place on 8th February 2024.
He said that there was already a planned conspiracy with 8-10 thousand people gathered there, who started pelting stones and throwing petrol bombs. Saxena added that in the evening, the electricity was cut off and stone pelting started again. He said it was a conspiracy to kill through petrol bombs. He stated that they got injured while fleeing.
