Curfew lifted from riot-hit Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura

DEHRADUN: Curfew was lifted entirely from the riot-hit Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani Tuesday morning, 12 days after the restrictions were first clamped following violence over the demolition of an “illegal” madrasa.

Curfew was lifted with effect from 5 am, according to an official order.

During the days the curfew remained in force, the administration gave relaxation for varying durations.

Ten people were arrested on Monday in connection with the violence in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani over the demolition of an illegally built madrassa, police said.

With these arrests, the total number of people held so far in the February 8 incident reached 68, Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Prahlad Narayan Meena told reporters.

Those held on Monday include Arbaz who had allegedly supplied materials for making petrol bombs that the rioters had hurled at police personnel and municipal corporation workers. Nine litres of petrol has been seized from him, the SSP said.

The police officer said 12 out of 16 accused named in the three FIRs lodged after the clashes have been arrested and a search was on to nab the rest.

Violence broke out on February 8 over the demolition of an illegally built madrassa in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani, with locals hurling stones and petrol bombs at municipal workers and police, forcing many police personnel to seek refuge at a police station, which the mob then set on fire.

In the violence, six rioters were killed and more than 100 people, including police personnel and mediapersons, were injured, according to the police. A civil rights groups-led fact-finding team has claimed that the violent clashes that shook Haldwani on February 8 was not an isolated incident but rather the culmination of escalating communal tensions fuelled by divisive rhetoric and policies.

A civil society fact-finding team comprising members of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights and Karawan-e-Mohabbat had visited Haldwani on Wednesday.

The team’s report claimed that despite the matter being subjudice, authorities moved to demolish the sealed mosque and madrasa, triggering anguish in the

Muslim community.