Haldwani Violence's Mastermind Abdul Malik, Who Gave "Free Legal Aid" In Railway Land Encroachment Case, Served Rs 2.44 Crore Notice

Many right-wing influencers have been talking about the connection between the Railway land encroachment case of last year and the recent violence after the demolition of the illegal madrassa in Haldwani.

The connection is now much more evident as the mastermind of Haldwani violence according to Uttarakhand Police is Abdul Malik, who was involved in giving free legal aid to various people in the encroachment case.

The demolished madrassa was run by Malik and the protests against demolition were also led by him, according to Nainital Senior Superintendent of Police Prahlad Narayan Meena quoted by The Indian Express.

According to Uttarakhand High Court lawyer Ahrar Baig, Malik got "a huge amount of public sympathy" because of providing free legal assistance to several people after eviction notices were served. This might have led people to protest for him.

Malik was arrested on Sunday (11 February) from Delhi and was brought to Dehradun. On Monday, he was served a recovery notice of Rs 2.44 crore by Haldwani Municipal Corporation for loss to public property.

Since the violence broke out, 30 people have been arrested and weapons were recovered from many of them. The police are searching for more individuals as over 150 people have been detained and questioned so far.

Last week, a large team comprising 700 members from the police, administration, and municipal corporation went to demolish the illegal madrasa and prayer site constructed on government land.

This action provoked a violent response from a mob of 10,000 people from the Muslim-dominated area, who resorted to stone-pelting. The police station in Banbhoolpura was set ablaze with petrol bombs.

Since then, the area has been under intense curfew while curfew in other parts of Haldwani was eased down. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has pledged to not spare rioters and continue making government land encroachment-free.