Violence erupted in Uttarakhand's Haldwani area on Thursday, February 8, as reports surfaced of stone pelting and arson during an anti-encroachment drive near the Banbhulpura police station.
According to authorities, the incident unfolded when a mob confronted officials assigned to demolish a madarsa illegally erected on government land as part of an ongoing crackdown on encroachments.
The confrontation swiftly intensified, resulting in the tragic loss of at least four lives and inflicting injuries on over 100 police personnel. Eyewitnesses recounted scenes of chaos as the mob besieged the police station, setting vehicles ablaze and even targeting a nearby transformer, casting the area into darkness.
Amidst the turmoil, journalists and administration officials found themselves trapped within the confines of the police station, underscoring the gravity of the situation. Law enforcement resorted to tear gas to disperse the agitated crowd and prevent further violence, while the district administration implemented measures to quell the unrest.
Illegal encroachments on government properties pose a pervasive challenge across Uttarakhand, extending beyond Banbhoolpura and Haldwani.
The crackdown
In December of the previous year, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami declared that his administration had successfully reclaimed 5000 acres of encroached land. He had directed the state police and forest department to identify and address all instances of illegal constructions.
Authorities identified a total of 3,793 such areas by May 2023. Nainital district topped the list with approximately 1,433 encroachments, followed by Haridwar with 1,149. Other districts with significant numbers of illegal structures include Tehri (209), Almora (192), and Champawat (97). The majority of these encroachments were on forest land.
In May 2023 alone, state authorities demolished over 330 Mazars within a span of 90 days. In March of the same year, bulldozers were deployed to dismantle illegal Mazars encroaching upon reserved forest land.
Prior to these actions, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reaffirmed his government's unwavering stance against the proliferation of illegally constructed Mazars on designated forest land throughout the state, including the Jim Corbett National Park, a renowned wildlife sanctuary nestled in the Nainital district.
In September 2021, a case of land encroachment emerged near Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand. Reports indicated the construction of an illegal mosque during the early 2000s within the vicinity of Khand-Khala Koti Colony, adjacent to the dam. Hindu organisations have made multiple attempts to have it removed since then.
Recently, in the initial week of September 2023, local Hindu groups intensified protests against the mosque, intensifying efforts to reclaim over 150 square meters of land from illegal possession.
The Rohingya connection?
In June 2022, reports emerged revealing the proliferation of several mazars within the Jim Corbett National Park, an iconic forested wildlife sanctuary nestled in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand, amidst the picturesque foothills of the Himalayas.
Swami Darshan Bharti, a respected saint actively engaged in combating illegal mazars and drug addiction, expressed grave concerns regarding this alarming issue affecting Uttarakhand.
In an interview with OpIndia, he underscored that the significant influx of the Muslim population in Uttarakhand occurred during the Congress government tenure under ND Tiwari. Contrary to popular belief, Swami Darshan Bharti attributed the facilitation of illegal Rohingyas settling in the state to the previous Congress regime, asserting that it was during their tenure that official documents were prepared for their settlement, not under the BJP government.