Mystery thickens over where ‘mastermind’ Abdul Malik was during Haldwani violence

While four civilians were killed in the violence, several people, including police personnel, received injuries.

“Senior Superintendent of Police, Nainital, constituted six special police teams to arrest the accused. One of the teams successfully arrested Abdul Moeed from Delhi,” said Nainital police on Thursday.

Moid and Malik were named as accused in FIR Number 21/24 registered at Banbhoolpura police station. It was registered on the complaint of station in-charge Neeraj Bhakuni, who alleged that when the demolition process started, the father and son and 14 others led the mob.

The FIR alleges that they incited the mob, saying “they will not let the demolition process take place as Banbhoolpura is their area, our rule prevails here and not the government’s”.

However, a letter submitted by a legal representative of Malik to the Uttarakhand DGP and copied to the Nainital DM and SSP contends that Malik was unjustly implicated. Talking to The Indian Express, Malik’s representative said the letter was submitted to the officials by hand.

The letter claims Malik was absent from Haldwani at the time. On February 7, he and his driver spent approximately three hours at the restaurant of a five-star hotel in Noida for a business meeting, followed by a consultation with his advocate Sudhir Tiwari, it claims. Subsequently, around 5 pm, he and Tiwari visited the residence of a Supreme Court advocate in Sector 31, where they stayed for an hour. It is claimed that after dining at a restaurant, Malik and his driver stayed at a hotel in Delhi.

The next day, on February 8, around 12:30 pm, Malik accompanied Tiwari to the residence of a former Rajya Sabha member, BJP’s Balbir Punj, in Noida to deliver an invitation card for Tiwari’s daughter’s wedding. There, Punj presented a book titled Tryst with AYODHYA authored by him, the letter states. Tiwari and Malik then proceeded to the residence of the former MP of the Congress in New Delhi.

Following this, claims the letter, around 3 pm, they visited the residence of a former Union Minister in New Delhi.

Subsequently, Tiwari and Malik dined at Radisson Hotel in Noida. After dinner, Malik escorted Tiwari to Greater Noida, where he stayed for half an hour, before proceeding to his daughter’s residence in Faridabad, Haryana, where he spent the night, it states.

In the letter it is claimed that since the incident, Malik has not visited Haldwani.

Talking to The Indian Express, BJP’s Punj confirmed that Malik and his son accompanied Tiwari to his residence in Noida on February 8 and stayed there for around 45 minutes, starting around 12.15 pm. He however said that he does not know the whereabouts of Malik before and after the said time.

Tiwari also confirmed to The Indian Express that he was with Malik from February 7 afternoon (except on the night when Malik stayed at a hotel) to around 8 pm on February 8.

“He spent the night of February 7 at a hotel and there is CCTV footage confirming the same. The next day, we met Balbir Punj… Later, after having coffee at Radisson Hotel, we went to the house of my friend Lalit Saxena’s daughter. After 8 pm, Malik left for his daughter Muniba’s residence in Faridabad,” said Tiwari.

Saxena, a lawyer by profession, also confirmed that Malik, his son and Tiwari were at his daughter’s house for around 30 minutes till 8 pm on February 8, the day of Haldwani violence.

Talking to The Indian Express, Uttarakhand Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar said, “Since it has been brought to my notice, we have taken cognizance (of the letter) and sent it to the district with the direction that whatever is claimed should be investigated fairly. If the accused is giving an application in his favour, we are duty bound to investigate it. After investigation, a report should be sent to us if the letter is genuine and (the claims made are) true. First, we will verify the authenticity of the letter and then we shall verify the facts.”