HALDWANI: Communal tension clutched the Haldwani area of Nainital district on Thursday evening following the demolition of a madrasa and an underground mosque-like structure that were illegally constructed on government land in the Banbhulpura area.
Police said most of the around 60 people hospitalised after the violence in the city's Banbhoolpura area were police personnel and municipal workers involved in the demolition of a local madrasa.
According to information obtained from the spot, in the Banbhoopura area, local residents threw stones at the team of municipal corporation and police who were demolishing illegally constructed prayer sites and mosques in the illegally occupied Mallik garden. More than 20 police personnel, including the Ramnagar SHO, were injured in the incident.
Eyewitnesses report that the rioters damaged the JCB of the municipal corporation and set fire to several vehicles including police jeeps and tractors. Youth on the rooftops kept on continuously pelting stones. The police also resorted to stone pelting in defense, and several rounds of tear gas were fired.
Fire was set to the Banbhoopura police station, sources said.
Meanwhile, two companies of the PAC from Rudrapur have been dispatched to Haldwani.
Orders have been given to shoot on sight any rioters in the curfew-affected areas.
According to information received, the municipal corporation had started preparations on Thursday afternoon to demolish the mosque and madrasa in 'Malik Bagh' in the Indira Nagar area of Banbhoopura. By the afternoon, forces from police stations around Haldwani and three reserved police buses had arrived outside the police station.
In the evening, escorted by heavy police force, a team from the municipal corporation reached to demolish the encroachment.
Local residents vehemently protested against the administrative action. As the demolition was about to begin, they encircled the police and municipal personnel in a triangular formation, protesting loudly.
According to the police, in order to disperse the crowd protesting against the removal of encroachments, they also resorted to mild force, which led the protesters to start pelting stones. The police team started getting bombarded with stones from all three sides, and it became difficult for the team members to protect themselves behind the barricades. The protesters also damaged the JCB of the municipal corporation present at the scene. This caused work to come to a halt for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, additional forces were called in from other districts.
In quell the miscreants, the police had to resort to firing several rounds of tear gas canisters. Despite this, the stone-pelting continued. Local residents blocked the road by setting tires on fire. The miscreants set fire to several vehicles in the vicinity. Following the chaos, the market in Haldwani was shut down.
SSP Prahlad Narayan Meena, City SP Harbans Singh, Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Upadhyay, City Magistrate Richa Singh, along with several other officials, were present at the scene.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has taken the incidents of attacks on police and administration officials and the spread of unrest in the area seriously.
On Thursday evening, the Chief Minister, along with Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar, and other senior officials, reviewed the situation at the Chief Minister's residence. The Chief Minister appealed to the local residents to maintain peace and directed strict action against elements causing disorder.
(With inputs from PTI)