The Uttarakhand Police on Thursday arrested Abdul Moeed, co-accused in the violence that took place in Haldwani on February 8 over the demolition of a mosque and madrasa during an anti-encroachment drive that left five dead. Mr. Moeed is the son of main accused and owner of the religious structures, Abdul Malik.
The police, so far, have arrested 84 people, allegedly part of the mob that led the violence in which a police station was burnt along with several government and private vehicles. The State had announced a curfew which remained in place for 12 days in the area.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, Prahlad Narayan Meena, said six special police teams had been formed for the arrest of the accused, and they were continuously raiding all possible places in different States, including Gujarat, Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
“One of the six teams arrested the wanted accused in the riots, Abdul Moeed, from Delhi on Thursday. Son of the main accused, Abdul Mallik, he was the last wanted criminal in our list pertaining to the violence that broke in Banbhoolpura on February 8,” Mr. Meena added.
Meanwhile, the lawyer representing Mr. Malik said that his client was being falsely implicated in the case and that he had not been present in Haldwani on the day violence broke out.
“Two-three days before the incident, Malik had left Haldwani and wasn’t in the town on the day of violence. He was in Delhi,” Ahrar Baig, Mr. Malik’s counsel, said.
The police, in their FIR lodged against Mr. Malik and 15 others, maintained that Mr. Mallik had been present at the spot when a team of officials from the civic body and the police reached the site for the demolition of the mosque and madrasa built on nazool land.
“Malik and others incited the mob....,” the police FIR reads.
