Days before Haldwani violence, intel report had warned demolition drive could take violent turn

On February 2, the Local Intelligence Unit is learnt to have sent a letter to the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police, warning about the possibility of protests by locals

haldwani violence intel report demolition drive

Vehicles set on fire by miscreants over the demolition of an "illegally built" madrasa at Banbhoolpura area, in Haldwani, on Thursday. (PTI)

Written by: Avaneesh Mishra

4 min readHaldwaniFeb 13, 2024 08:41 PM IST First published on: Feb 10, 2024 at 10:25 PM IST

Days before the Haldwani violence that claimed five lives and left over a dozen – including several police personnel – injured, the Nainital Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) is learnt to have flagged the possibility of large-scale protests if a demolition drive is carried out in the area.

Violence had erupted on Thursday after the administration conducted a drive during which a mosque and a madrasa were demolished in Banbhoolpura area. District authorities said both structures stood on Nazool land – government land not officially mentioned in revenue records. As stones were pelted, cars torched and the local police station surrounded by a mob, Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami issued shoot on sight orders.

On February 2, the LIU is learnt to have sent a letter to the District Magistrate and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) warning about the possibility of protests by locals. It is learnt to have suggested conducting the demolition drive early in the morning and proper surveillance of nearby rooftops. The drive was carried out around 4.30 pm, and eyewitnesses had later said stones had “rained down” from the rooftops.

Asked about the report, Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar refused to comment and said that at a time when a magisterial inquiry has been ordered, for him to comment on this would not be right.

“The local-level correspondence between the LIU and the offices of the DM and SSP is a district-level thing. The investigation is on and the magisterial inquiry is on. Whatever action has been taken at different levels will be scrutinised and we will learn proper lessons from this episode. We will not spare those who started the mob violence, and if someone else is at fault, we will examine that too,” said Kumar.

The Uttarakhand Chief Secretary has asked the Divisional Commissioner (Kumaon) to conduct a magisterial inquiry into the incident and submit a report within 15 days.

Talking to The Indian Express, a district official said that “whenever there is any anti-encroachment action in such a sensitive area, the same suggestions would be given”.

The report is learnt to have stated that one Abdul Malik was found to have encroached on the Malik ka Bageecha and because no freehold was granted for the said land, the administration took the area in its custody on January 30. It added that nearby, there is mosque and madrasa, and notice has been served to demolish these if the encroachment is not removed by February 1.

“If the administration demolishes the said masjid and madrasa, the possibility of heavy protest by the locals cannot be denied. Therefore, keeping in mind the administrative action of removing encroachment… other than a sufficient police system, the following actions are suggested… It would be better to remove the encroachment in the morning time so that a minimum number of people are present there. It would be important to do the videography of nearby areas using drones so that things kept on roofs and gathered people could be seen beforehand. Barricading all connecting roads to the said place and nearby areas, and deploying police and PAC, would be important. Before the encroachment is removed, search teams should remove religious books and symbols (from the mosque and madrasa) to hand them over to the maulvi concerned, and this should be videographed,” the report states, it is learnt.