Uttarakhand police on Saturday arrested Abdul Malik, the alleged mastermind of violence that broke in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura locality earlier this month after the demolition of a Mosque and Madrasa by the district administration as part of anti-encroachment drive that left five dead and over 100 injured.
According to police, Mr. Malik, had encroached the ‘Nazool’ land which he was selling to people illegally, and the violence was pre-planned event to challenge the State machinery.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Prahlad Naryan Meena, told The Hindu that around 82 people have been arrested so far in connection with the violence including Mr. Mallik.
“Six teams were formed to search for Malik and his son Abdul Moid who were looking for him in different states including Gujarat, Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. One of these teams arrested Malik from Delhi but his son is still on the run,” the SSP added.
The SSP added that the accused have been booked for hatching a criminal conspiracy, cheating along with rioting, and criminal intimidation among others.
Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar has announced a cash reward of ₹50,000 for the police team that arrested Mr. Malik.
Uttarakhand Police has already attached the properties of Mr. Malik and his son. The action took place after Mr. Mallik failed to deposit ₹2.44 crore to the municipal body of Haldwani which on February 13 had served a recovery notice to Mr. Malik for the damage done to vehicles of both administration and public, during the violence.
Meanwhile, the Haldwani police is also investigating the role of a Hyderabad based NGO, named ‘Youth Courage’, in the violence. The police, in a notice issued on Friday, said that the founder of the NGO, Salman Khan had distributed money to locals in Bhoolanpura and posted ‘wrong and misleading’ information pertaining to violence on social media in support of the rioters.
“The NGO’s bank accounts and PAN details have already been sent to Income Tax. The registration of his NGO was cancelled and the bank account was seized. Those who donated to this NGO are being identified,” the police notice reads.
Video footage of Mr. Khan distributing cash to Muslim families, who were affected during violence in Banbhoolpura, went viral on social media. The video shows Mr. Khan and his aide handing out bundles of ₹100 notes to women and young men from a bag full of cash. The NGO posted the videos of money distribution on its Facebook page and YouTube channel with caption “Hum sab ki zaroorat hai Haldwani ke mazloom musalmano ko” (The poor and helpless Muslims of Haldwani need all of us).
The links to the videos also had QR code and people were asked to donate money to help Haldwani victims.
At least five people died and 100 were injured in violent clashes between police and locals in Banbhoopura on February 8 when a team of district administration officials attempted to demolish an ‘illegal madrasa’ in the area. Miscreants encircled the police station, pelted stones on officials, and torched vehicles and public property. Shoot-at-sight orders were issued and curfew was imposed in the town which remained in place for over 12 days.
