Wednesday, 14 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The recent riot that occurred in Haldwani’s Vanbhulpura area over the demolition of illegally built madarsa and other structures on February 8 was not communal. Stating this on Tuesday, the officiating director general of police Abhinav Kumar stressed that the violence was caused by miscreants who will be nabbed soon by the police. The police have filed three FIRs in the matter and will act against all the culprits on the basis of scientific evidence gathered during the investigation. No action will be taken against innocent people. He also appealed to the public to not pay attention to rumours that the Haldwani riot was a communal incident instigated by a particular community.
Many speculations have been going around regarding the riot, especially on social media platforms, where people have been debating about the cause of the riot. Many have been accusing people of the minority community responsible for the violence. Many have also blamed authorities for the violence as they continued the demolition of the encroachment despite the strong protests. Responding to such rumours and claims, the DGP said that the violence was not caused by any particular community and urged people to avoid such unnecessary speculations. He also asked people to cooperate in the police investigation. “We are trying to restore normalcy in the area. The curfew is being relaxed in a phased manner. The Internet has been restored. We also urge the law-abiding citizens to come forward and cooperate in the police investigation,” he added.
It is pertinent to mention here that a total of six people were killed and over 100 police personnel, administration officials and media persons sustained injuries in the violence. The police have arrested 36 accused in the case so far. Besides this, the Municipal Corporation of Haldwani (MCH) has also issued a recovery notice of Rs 2.44 crore against the alleged prime accused in the violence Abdul Malik. He has been asked to deposit the money to cover for the damage caused to government property during the clash and arson, as per the officials.
