Haldwani in Uttarakhand witnessed unbridled violence on Thursday, February 8. A raft of Islamists indulged in open acts of violence against policemen and civic authorities who went there to remove a structure illegally constructed on encroached government land in the Banbhoolpura police station area, which some labelled a madarsa and others a Namaz place.
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. As many as 6 people lost their lives and more than 300 policemen were injured in the Islamist violence.
This was, however, not the first time that tensions have flared in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. Radical Islamists have targeted this place earlier too. In fact, even in January last year, when the court ordered the demolition of illegal encroachments from the railway land last year (a decision that was later stayed by the Supreme Court), these individuals had attempted to ruin the atmosphere of the area. At that time, OpIndia journalist Rahul Pandey visited the location to carry out an in-depth investigation that yielded many shocking facts.
The crew arrived in Haldwani on January 3, 2023, and worked tirelessly to uncover the truth behind the protest and debunk the ‘Muslims in India under attack’ narrative that was being propagated then.
During the investigation, OpIndia spoke to locals in Haldwani who apprised us of the rapid demographic shift in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani area. Hindus in the Banbhoolpura area explained how their predicaments increased over the last ten years since the Muslim population there rose significantly. They said they were clueless about how the Muslim population expanded so quickly and from where and why these people were coming.
Some alleged that Muslims moved to Rampur, Nazimabad, and Bijnor in search of work and settled there after illegally acquiring land in the area. According to information provided by a Hindu, there are an infinite number of weapons gathered around the region by these extremists.
Love jihad, forced conversion and looming threats: Hindus in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani narrated their pitiful plight to the OpIndia team
When the OpIndia journalist spoke to some Hindus residing in Indira Nagar in Banbhoolpura in Haldwani, they looked visibly worried for their and their family’s safety. A 72-year-old elderly man who reluctantly shared the plight of the handful of Hindus remaining in the Banbhoolpura area in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani city alleged that people of the Muslim community, under the influence of alcohol and drugs, come to their houses and start kicking their doors at random odd hours. When the Hindus oppose, they hush the matter by pinning the blame on others.
A disabled Hindu resident of Banbhoolpura lamented how he and his family want the Government of India to relocate them since the conditions are no longer tenable for Hindus to live there. Another Hindu residing there told us how Hindu-Muslim clashes are common there and how it has occurred several times in the past.
Another Hindu resident of Indira Nagar lamented how incidents of love jihad remain common in the Banbhoolpura locality. Meanwhile, another individual bemoaned how his Hindu brother was forcefully converted to Islam. The Hindus of Indira Nagar told us that they couldn’t even play Holi properly under past governments.
House constructed by demolishing a Shiva temple
An elderly man in his sixties told us that a man named Satyanarayan Tiwari, who once lived in the Banbhoolpura area, had constructed a small Shiva Mandir near his house. After a few days, when Satyanarayan Tiwari went away, some Muslims in the area not only forcefully acquired his house but also the Shiv Mandir he had constructed near it. The Muslims demolished the Mandir and built the house, where they are now living, the man recalled.
Hindu children compelled to learn Urdu and recite Namaz in school
We were told by two minor Hindu children from Banbhoolpura that they were taught Urdu in school. When we requested him to recite the school prayer, he recited some Islamic prayers to us.
Meanwhile, the children’s parents told us that when they discovered that their children were being taught Urdu and made to recite Namaz in school, they took them out of this school and got them admitted to some other school.
Some Hindu women residing in the locality revealed how they are subjected to harassment whenever they walk down the street.
Rohingyas and Bangladeshis are also settled in the illegal colony
OpIndia team which conducted a ground investigation into the controversy over the eviction of illegal encroachers on railway land in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, also discovered how Rohingyas and Bangladeshis had also illegally encroached upon Indian Railway land and settled there.
Since the illegal encroachers were mostly Muslims and state administration was getting the encroachment removed on High Court order (later stayed by Supreme Court) the leftists had things served on a platter to make a communal issue out of it and cry ‘Muslims under attack by Hindu nationalist party’ on international platforms. Protests were orchestrated and efforts were made to turn it into yet another ‘Shaheen Bagh‘.
Local and religious leaders had used children in the protests that they orchestrated to save these illegal encroachments from bulldozer action.
During the course of our investigation, when we spoke to some small children playing near the railway tracks they revealed how they were driven to participate in the ‘protest’. One of the minor children playing there, who identified himself as Mohammad Sameer, told OpIndia how one Imran Hafeez had coerced him and many other children to participate in the Haldwani ‘protest.’ He also revealed how Hafiz Imran has asked all the children to come dressed up in their Madarsa uniforms.
He added that one Madeen bhai, on the orders of Hafeez Imran, had gathered 10-12 children and brought them to the demonstration venue to participate in the protest.
Children from nearby madarsa on encroached land were gathered for the protests at Haldwani: Watch (part 1) #OpIndiaExclusive pic.twitter.com/2vi4aw4oHP
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) January 5, 2023
The Wire supported spreading the propaganda
During the course of our investigation, we also revealed how the leftist media had geared up to make the Haldwani protests by the illegal encroachers their new propaganda tool. Since most of the illegal encroachers on the railway land were Muslims, social media was flooded with viral videos claiming that the court-ordered removal of illegal encroachers was a ‘conspiracy’ against Muslims.
During our time at the location, we spotted a man who identified himself as a journalist who was talking to the encroachers and tutoring them on what to say. Notably, he clearly asked them not to speak in Urdu but to speak in Hindi and how it would come on channels such as the leftist propaganda outlet The Wire.
He showed them a video of Arfa Khanum Sherwani of The Wire and said, “She is a Muslim. She is from your community. She speaks so well.” He said that the video would appear on the likes of The Wire.
हल्द्वानी में जमीन कब्जाए लोगों को पत्रकार ने दी ट्रेनिंग, बोला TheWire पर आएगा
— ऑपइंडिया (@OpIndia_in) January 5, 2023
देखें पार्ट-1#HaldwaniEncroachment pic.twitter.com/lBypDPiDYb
Haldwani violence
Notably, illegal encroachment on government land has been a perennial issue in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani district with the administration finding it challenging to deal with the situation. On February 8 also, violence erupted when the administration was trying to demolish one such illegally constructed structure, which some claimed was a madarsa. A frenzied Muslim mob pelted stones at police personnel and civic authorities and indulged in arson.
As many as 4 people were reported dead and over 300 police personnel were 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.
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.
