Vehicles set on fire by miscreants over the demolition of an "illegally built" madrasa at Banbhoolpura area, in Haldwani.
Credit: PTI Photo
Lucknow: Curfew was partially lifted in Uttarakhand's Haldwani town, where large scale violence ensued after razing of ''illegally built'' madarsa (islamic school) and a mosque on Thursday that claimed six lives and left scores injured.
According to the police sources, curfew was lifted from the outer areas of the town but it continued in the violence-affected Banbhoolpura locality, which was the epicentre of the rioting. Internet services continued to be suspended.
The officials said that five people were detained in connection with the violence following a scrutiny of the CCTV footage and other videos of the violence. An FIR under different sections of the IPC was lodged at Banbhoolpura police station against five thousand people including 18 named ones.
The district officials said that a magisterial inquiry was ordered into the violence. Commissioner Deepak Rawat would conduct a probe into the violence and submit his report to the government within 15 days, they added.
Uttarakhand police chief Abhinav Kumar said that the police were trying to identify the trouble mongers with the help of CCTV footage and videos. ''We will not spare any one who indulged in violence... they will be booked under the NSA,'' he said.
No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the town, the officials said, adding that security personnel including the jawans of the para military forces remained deployed in the violence hit areas and other sensitive localities.
The violence adversely affected tourism as a large number of bookings at hotels in the popular hill station of Nainital were cancelled, sources said. A heavy tourist influx was expected at Nainital and other tourist destinations on Valentine's Day on February 14.
There were also reports of landlords asking tenants of a particular community to vacate their houses. A few instances of Muslim traders being asked by the landlords to vacate their rented shops were also reported from some areas in Haldwani town.
Six people were killed and scores others injured in violence following the razing of an ''illegally built'' madarsa and a mosque in Banbhoolpura locality in the town on Thursday. The mob had torched several vehicles and a petrol pump and indulged in heavy stone pelting at the cops.
Incidentally, the Uttarakhand assembly had barely a couple of days back adopted the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) Bill, which provided for drastic changes in the laws relating to marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance.