Uttarakhand security forces stormed Haldwani on Thursday night after violent clashes broke out between police and locals in Banborpura district and the government bulldozed an “illegal” madrasa to drive out the invaders. Stay on strict alert.

At least four people were killed and hundreds injured, officials said. Superintendent of Police Abhinav Kumar told News18 after returning from Haldwani: “It appears the violence was planned. Police are in the process of identifying those involved.”

The source of restlessness

In 2022, thousands of Banbhoopura residents rose up against a High Court order seeking eviction of encroachers from land belonging to the Railways. Although the Supreme Court stayed the order on January 5, 2023, there has been unrest in the region since then.

Close to the railway station along the railway line, Banbhoopura is a densely populated area where an estimated one lakh Muslims live.

Paramjit Singh, a resident of Haldwani, said, “I am 63 years old and Banbhoolpura existed before that. Earlier, there were a few thousand families, but now the number has exceeded that.”

In recent years, many families have moved to Bambopurpura from neighboring Uttar Pradesh towns like Swar, Tanda and Bakhdi as Haldwani city is the gateway to Kumaon Hills and offers ample business opportunities.

land encroachment

Recently, the Haldwani government cleared around 30 acres of land for settlement of Mazars and Madrasas. One such building was demolished from ‘Malik Ka Bagicha’ on Thursday. The government has also identified “Kabul Ka Bagicha”, “Safdar Ka Bagicha” and “Najakat Khan Ka Bagicha” as official lands belonging to the government.

Records show that much of Haldwani lies on “Nador Land” – government land that can be allocated to individuals in specific years and is not transferable.

“Not just Haldwani, people from various towns live in the land of Nador. There needs to be a bigger picture to avoid a situation like Haldwani,” said Uttarakhand Equality Party chief PC Tiwari said.

Political connections in Bambopurpura

Over the years, Bambopurpura has been a political melting pot due to its vote bank. Of the five recent assembly elections held since Uttarakhand was separated from Uttar Pradesh in 2000, the ruling BJP won only once in Haldwani in 2007, while the Congress won in the remaining four Victory in all elections.

The BJP blamed the Grand Old Party and said that whenever the government tried to clear the 29 acres of land, the Grand Old Party sided with the residents despite knowing that the land belonged to the government.

“The Bambopura incident is a result of the politics of appeasement. Our government is dealing with those involved in the conflict with an iron fist,” said a leader.

Another BJP MP Mahant Dilip Rawat stressed the need for strict action to stop “outsiders” in Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, questions have also been raised about possible intelligence lapses that led to the violence, two days after the state Assembly passed the Uniform Civil Code bill. Speaking to News18, Cabinet Minister Ganesh Joshi said the violence was caused by “Hardwani’s obvious frustration with the UCC”.

Uttarakhand police spokesman Neelesh Anand Bharne said the department would investigate the possibility of Intel’s failure.