‘Can’t get to hospital…’: Man who lost father, brother in Khadwani violence recounts horror

Locals in Haldwani are gripped by fear after the demolition of an illegal madrasa led to massive violence and riots. Many lives changed that night, but what Mohamed Aman and his family faced was nothing short of a nightmare.

Aman’s world came crashing down when he took his father, who was lying in the street with a gunshot wound during the riots, to the hospital, only to find that his brother Mohd Anas was already there with a gunshot wound from the waist down. The violence that night cost Anas’ family and his father their lives.

according to a The Indian Express reports, Mohd Aman said he and his father Zahid Hussain were working at a construction site before the violence broke out. Fortunately, Aman returned home, but his father stayed behind to complete some housework.

“When I learned about the violence, I called Anas to go home because he was also outside. I learned that a friend of mine was trapped in the market and I set out to find her. Anas knew Then he followed me. Meanwhile, my father returned home and was told that Anas had not returned. He went to find him,” the publication quoted Aman as saying.

“My father was shot in the chest while standing near a dairy farm. After receiving a call from a neighbor, I found him lying injured in the street. I tried to lift him with the help of two other people and we took him to the local A clinic. When I arrived, I found Anas already there, injured,” he added.

Mohd Aman said that after first aid, doctors asked them to send his father and brother to the hospital for further treatment, but they could not arrange a method and the two died soon after.

“We finally brought them back to our home. After post-mortem, we buried them on Friday in the presence of the district administration. Only five people from our family were allowed to attend the last rites,” he said.

Hardwani violence: Uttarakhand seeks more central powers

The Uttarakhand government is seeking to deploy more central troops in Haldwani, where violence broke out on February 8 after an “illegal” madrassa was demolished, officials said.

They said four companies of central paramilitary forces, each with 100 personnel, have been sought from the home ministry to maintain law and order in the Bamboo Purpura area, the epicenter of mob violence.

External curfew lifted, investigation ordered

A magisterial inquiry into the February 8 riots was ordered after an “illegal” madrasa was demolished in Haldwani on Saturday. Curfew has been lifted in the outer parts of the town, but in Bamboopur, the epicenter of mob violence Banbhoolpura is still valid.

Police said they had launched a search for Abdul Malik, who built the building.