On Saturday, Uttarakhand police arrested Abdul Malik, the main accused of the violence that erupted in Haldwani locality’s Banbhoolpura locality after the demolition of the Mosque and the Madrasa by the district administration as part of the anti-encroachment drive, which led to the deaths of 5 and injuries to over 100.The area police say
Mr. Malik was using the ‘Nazool’ land and selling the same to people illegally.
The clash, a well-thought-out challenge against the State machinery, was pre-planned.Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prahlad Narayan Meena stated in The Hindu that about 82 people have been arrested- including Mr. Mallik.
Six teams were formed to look for Malk and his son, Abdul Moid, who were busy searching for him in different states such as Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. One of these teams caught Malk in Delhi, but his son remains at large.
According to the SSP, the accused have been booked in a criminal conspiracy case, cheating case along with rioting besides criminal intimidation and others.DGP Abhinav Kumar declared the reward of 50,000/- Рупии to the cops who captured Mr. Malik.
Uttarakhand Police already have properties under confiscation which belong to Mr. Malik and his son. The action was made after Mr. Mallik defaulted to deposit ₹2.44 crore to the Haldwani municipal body, which had informed Mr. Malik on February 13 of the recovery notice for the damages caused to the administration and the public vehicles during the violence.
On the other hand, the Haldwani police are also probing the link between the Hyderabad-based NGO called ‘Youth Courage’ and the violence. The police, through a notice issued on Friday, said that the leader of the NGO, Salman Khan, handed money to the locals in Bhoolanpura and had posted wrong and misleading messages on social media in support of the rioters.
The income tax, bank account numbers, and PAN (Permanent Account Number) details of the NGO have already been sent to Income Tax. The organization was deregistered, and its bank account was seized. People who donated to this NGO are being identified.
Videos of Mr. Khan offering money to Muslim families who were affected by the riot that happened in the Banbhoolpura area were uploaded on social media. The video depicts Mr. Khan and his attendant distributing bundles of ₹100 notes to women and young men from a bag full of cash. The NGO posted the videos on the Facebook page and YouTube channel for money distribution with the caption
“Hum sab ki zaroorat hai Haldwani ke mazloom Muslims ko” (Poor and helpless Muslims of Haldwani deserve our all).
And people were requested to donate some money to the suffering of people in Haldwani. At least five people were killed, and 100 more were injured in the clashes between police and locals in Banbhoopura, which took place on February 8 when a group of the district’s administration officers came into the area to pull down an ‘illegal madrasa.’ A crowd comprising of miscreants besieged the police station, threw stones, attacked officials, and vandalized vehicles and public property. The security forces were ordered to shoot to kill, and a curfew was imposed on the town, which lasted for over fourteen days.
