Uttarakhand: Tension in Chamoli District as Police File Cases Against 500 ‘Unidentified’ Persons

Dehradun: Tension prevailed in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand as Hindutva groups took out a procession in Gopeshwar town following violence against Muslim shops at Nandghat on Sunday. The district administration has imposed Section 163 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, which prohibits gathering of four and more people, similar to Section 144 of the CrPC earlier.

The police have registered a case against 300 unidentified people for attacking, ransacking and looting shops belonging to Muslims at Nandghat. A case has also been registered against 200 unidentified persons for damaging the makeshift mosque.   

The trouble started at Nandghat market near Nandprayag in Chamoli district on Sunday following allegations of eve-teasing and making indecent gestures at a minor girl by a Muslim youth who was running a barber shop in the area. The father of the minor girl had lodged a complaint with the police a few days ago, as the alleged accused had absconded. An irate mob of Hindutva groups, raising provocative slogans against the Muslim community, allegedly attacked, ransacked and looted at least seven shops owned by Muslims in the Nandghat market. They also allegedly damaged a makeshift mosque where the Muslims used to pray, as well as some vehicles owned by Muslims.

As per report, a few Muslims took shelter in the local police station to save themselves from the angry mob on Sunday while some others were given shelter by their neighbours. Most of the women and children belonging to Muslim community were sent back to Srinagar Garhwal for safety on September 3 night, as per Nayyar Kazmi, president of the Uttarakhand unit of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), who is based at Roorkee town of Haridwar.

“We have sought an appointment from Uttarakhand Director General of Police (DGP) to apprise us about the plight of Muslims in Chamoli district,” he told reporters.

Meanwhile, some traders and Hindutva groups “forced a bandh” at Nandghat market for the third day on Tuesday seeking the arrest of two more persons in the alleged eve-teasing case. The alleged accused Arif Khan has already been arrested by the police from Bijnore. The Hindutva groups are demanding that his alleged accomplices, Shahid, Ahmed Hasan and Ayub, should also be arrested. Darshan Bharati, a Hindutva leader known for his anti-Muslim hate speeches, reportedly reached Nandghat on September 2 and addressed a gathering of locals.  

The rally was taken out by Hindutva groups at Gopeshwar town, starting from Ramlila Ground till the local bus stand. A recitation of ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ was done by the protestors, who demanded that police should verify all ‘outsiders’ living in the district. Senior police officials, including district police chief Sarvesh Panwar, are camping in the area with a large police force.

The writer is a freelance journalist based in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.