By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 13 Feb: It is learnt that the government is seriously considering confiscating the properties of the mastermind of the Haldwani violence, Abul Malik if he continues to evade arrest. Sources claim that several teams of police officials are searching for Malik but he continues to be at large. Initially, the police believed that he had fled to Delhi but his mobile phones have gone off the radar and he is not making phone calls from his known phone numbers.
It may be recalled that Abdul Malik had constructed the illegal Madrasa and Namaz Sthal by encroaching upon the Nazul Land in the area which had of late come to be known as Mailk Ka Bageecha. Official records, however, show the land only as Banphulpura. He is believed to be the mastermind of the violence that had happened in Haldwani on 8 February. The arrest of Abdul Malik remains a major challenge for the police. Police teams are camping in Delhi and Bareilly apart from elsewhere. It remains a mystery, however, why Mailk was not arrested on the day of the violence, itself, because there are several viral videos showing him leading the mob and arguing with the police and municipal officials. Interestingly, soon after his mobile phone was put under surveillance, his last known location was detected to be in Delhi. Initial reports had claimed that he had been nabbed from Delhi but this has been denied by SSP, Nainital, Prahlad Narayan Meena.
A notice of recovery of Rs 2.44 crores has also been served on Malik and he has been given three days to respond to the notice by the Municipal Corporation and to compensate for the losses suffered as a result of the violence on 8 February. In case Malik fails to respond to the notice, the government may give the go ahead to confiscating his properties. After the disturbance in Haldwani, the strength of the police and the para military forces has been increased from 1100 to 1700. Till now, the police officials were doing duty for 16 hours, each. After the arrival of the additional forces, now they will be deputed on duty only for eight hours. The security arrangements of Banbhulpura have been handed over to the paramilitary forces. The sources today claimed that WhatsApp and call details of about 5,000 mobile numbers are being scrutinised and traced by the Police in connection with the Haldwani violence as these numbers have been found to be active in Banphulpura and nearby areas of Haldwani on the day of the violence.
Meanwhile, some questions have arisen regarding the objections raised by several leading Maulanas such as Mahmood Madani and others from Jamiat Uloom against the demolition of the alleged religious structures. Mahmood Madani has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah alleging that the mosque and the madrasa have been wrongly demolished by the Uttarakhand Government. It may be recalled that Abdul Malik is a person with high connections and, seeing his influence, even well-known Islamic scholars like Madani are favouring him. On the other hand, the administration claims that no prayers were being held in the said structure for a long time and that there were hardly ten students who visited the Madrasa building. Legal opinion varies too but many legal experts point out that this structure can’t be called a Masjid or Madrasa as no Namaz was being offered there.
The administration also has stressed that, under the guise of taking over the land, Abdul Malik had opened a madrassa and built a namaz place for the children. The question is whether the leaders of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind were unaware that the Madrasa was not registered anywhere in official records. Even Friday prayers are not offered at this place.
Municipal Commissioner Pankaj Upadhyay has claimed that, with the intention of grabbing the land, the madrassa and the namaz site were used as a pretext since the people of the surrounding areas also did not go there to offer Friday or daily namaz. Some sources also claim that the Maulvi of the madrassa was also brought here from outside. Eight to ten children were brought there and made to sit so that the structure could be declared a religious one in the eyes of the administration. In reality, the objective was land grab and nothing else. Abdul Malik was selling this government property on stamp papers worth Rs 50, each. Abdul Malik had taken illegal possession of this land and was selling small plots from this land. Neither the lease of this land had been extended nor a freehold right was awarded by the government. The government in fact had initiated the action of taking back the possession since a former municipal councillor had filed a PIL regarding this in the High Court. The High Court had reprimanded the district administration on its failure.
