Protesters must pay for damage to public property: Uttarakhand introduces new law

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Gurmit Singh has given his assent to a legislation that would enable full recovery of damages caused to public property during riots or protests as well as the imposition of a fine of up to Rs 8 lakh on rioters.

The Uttarakhand Public and Private Property Damage Recovery Bill was passed by the state assembly last month and sent to the governor for his nod, which was received on Thursday.

Welcoming the governor's assent, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday said the law's strict provisions would serve as a strong deterrent for potential offenders who damaged public property during strikes, protest demonstrations or riots.

"The recovery of every paisa of a damaged public property will now be made from the person responsible for it," Dhami said.

The purpose of the law is to stop people from damaging public property during riots, he added.

Apart from full recovery of damage caused to private and government property from rioters, a fine of up to Rs 8 lakh will also be imposed upon them and they will also be made to pay for the expenses of the government staff on riot control measures, officials had earlier said.

They later said the law would be the country's "toughest" anti-riot legislation.

The law was first introduced in the form of an ordinance in March after massive damage caused to public property during the riots in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani the previous month.

The rioters set a police station on fire and torched a number of vehicles parked outside it.

The riots, which broke out over the demolition of a madrasa and a place of worship allegedly built on encroached land, had claimed six lives besides leaving a number of police personnel and journalists injured.