Haldwani: Remnants of Thursday’s chaos linger in Haldwani as charred JCB earthmovers, set ablaze by a retaliating mob against the district administration’s decision to demolish an allegedly ‘illegal’ mosque-cum-madrasa, still emit smoke. However, the city’s Banbhoolpura area, the site of the clashes, has since fallen quiet.
Now, grieving families mourn in solitary silence, confined within Banbhoolpura’s narrow lanes amid a curfew imposed by the administration. Police and Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel stand guard, in full gear, to prevent any resurgence of violence.
ThePrint reached families of those who died in the violence. While some express remorse for allowing their loved ones to venture out on that ill-fated evening, one family alleges foul play, accusing a vengeful neighbor of murder.
On 8 February, teams from the Haldwani Municipal Corporation, Nainital District administration, and local police arrived at Malik ka Bagicha to demolish the “illegal” mosque-cum-madrasa, leading to stone-pelting by locals. The violence claimed five lives and left over a hundred injured, including police and auxiliary forces personnel.
Among the deceased was 24-year-old Prakash Kumar, who had arrived in Haldwani that very day from Bihar, in search of a job.
The Uttarakhand state government has ordered a magisterial probe into the violence, which will be headed by Kumaon division commissioner Deepak Rawat, and asked for the report to be submitted in the next 15 days.
The state government Saturday also sought four additional companies of the CAPF to maintain law and order in the city.
‘Just went to run an errand’
For Shimmi of Gaffur Basti, the 8 February violence dealt a double blow to her family — she lost her husband, 45-year-old Zahid Hussain, and 18-year-old son Mohammed Anas, in one fell swoop. They both succumbed to the bullet injuries they suffered in the clashes.
Zahid had left home that day to run a routine errand — to buy milk for his granddaughter.
“My husband left home at 8 pm Thursday to buy milk. He had received a phone call and he left while still talking on the phone,” Shimmi told ThePrint.
When Anas heard his father had stepped out, he got concerned and went looking for him. Soon after, word reached Zahid’s elder son Mohammed Aman that his father had been shot and he rushed out to search for him. He did find him and rushed with him to the hospital but he was declared dead on arrival.
Meanwhile, Zahid’s brother-in-law Mohsin Ansari, upon hearing about his missing family members, went searching too. “I got to know that my brother-in-law was shot and I started looking for him when I found that my nephew Anas, too, had been shot and was lying at the nearby square. At first, I could not gather enough courage to go to him, but then I ran to him. Anas was crying for help. He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital,” he said to ThePrint.
According to Zahid’s elder sister Guddo, her brother was shot in the chest and nephew Anas in the thigh. His mother-in-law, Mumtaz Begum, said Gaffur Basti “had nothing to do with the violence”.
Meanwhile, Shimmi is inconsolable, thinking about her last moments with her son.
“Anas had bought new clothes. He wore them and showed them to me, asking ‘kaisa lag raha hoon, ammi? (how am I looking?)’, and I told him he looked nice. Now see what has happened,” she said, breaking down.
‘Revenge’
At around 7 pm on 8 February, Faheem Qureshi was sitting on the roof of his house Banbhoolpura’s Line No. 16, located just 100 metres away from Malik ka Bagicha, along with his brothers when he spotted his neighbour Sanjay Sonkar, his two sons and a man named Raju, attempting to torch his vehicle.
Faheem’s cousin Javed told ThePrint that when Faheem intervened, trying to stop Sonkar from splashing petrol on his Tata magic mini pick-up vehicle, Sonkar shot him.
“My cousins who were there at the spot saw Sonkar firing,” Javed said.
“Sonkar had also threatened Faheem’s elder brother 15 days ago, saying that he would kill him. One of my cousins is an eyewitness to this crime,” he added.
According to Javed, the animosity between Faheem and Sonkar started about six months ago over a wall.
A wall was built by Faheem in the narrow lane outside his house to fence off an area where drug users would allegedly venture. Sonkar, who according to Javed is involved in “illegal activities”, took offence over the construction.
“We have complained to the city magistrate and the SDM about Sonkar’s involvement and said that he took his revenge on my cousin using the unrest and violence on the streets,” Javed told ThePrint.
Javed also alleged that Sonkar had used religious slurs directed at the Muslim community in the past, but they had never done anything about it, because you “can’t choose and change your neighbours”.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Nainital, Prahlad Narayan Meena Prahlad N. Meena has said every allegation related to all the cases were being looked into, when ThePrint specifically asked about the allegations by Faheem Qureshi’s family during a press conference.
‘Shot in the back’
Another person who died of a gunshot wound was Mohammad Shaban, who lived in Line No. 9 of Banbhoolpura’s Azad Nagar area. A 21-year-old, Shaban was studying and would also work at his family-run general store.
His brother-in-law Mohammed Usman says he was in Meerut when he heard the news. “I had heard that Shaban was hit in the leg with a rubber bullet. The reality turned out to be even more horrifying,” he told ThePrint.
According to Usman, Shaban had gone looking for his elder brother Mohammed Shadan on 8 February when he was shot in the back. He allegedly succumbed to his injuries while locals, who were trying to get him to a hospital, were stopped by the police.
The last rites for the four deceased locals were done Friday. Kumar’s body has been handed over to his family, who took it back to his hometown Arrah Sunday.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
Also Read: Police arrest 25 more in Haldwani violence case, search for owner of ‘illegal’ demolished madrasa on
question is has sonker been arrested for the murder?