Uttarakhand Top Cop: “Mob Couldn’t Have Got Petrol Bombs, Stones Instantly”; “Premeditated Plot” Linked to Violence

Uttarakhand DGP Abhinav Kumar told CNN-News18 that for five hours, police officers in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura continued placing SOS calls to police headquarters in Dehradun as a riotous throng encircled their “thana” and threw petrol bombs.

Kumar said in an exclusive interview that the violence started on February 8 at 4 p.m. and was eventually under control by 9 p.m. Numerous calls and texts were received by me from coworkers who were encircled by the crowd. Numerous police cars were set on fire. Stones and petrol bombs were thrown, and the whole “thana” was encircled. It took us a long time to get everything under control again.

The police believe there was a planned plot behind this. It was not possible to get the quantity of stones, petrol bombs, and other weapons that were utilized in a moment. “I concur that the police were not involved in the level of mobilization carried out by the accused,” the DGP said.

Officials said that prior to the demolition mission, state intelligence had requested drone monitoring of the region in its report. To find out whether the local police overlooked this, an investigation is underway.

Officials report that among the 25 individuals detained, local police have seized approximately 150 rounds of ammunition and seven small guns. Authorities believe that before the Banbhoolpura police station was set on fire, weapons and ammunition were taken.

Kumar refuted claims that the police incited the incident and handled it improperly, saying that the officers “acted in the lawful exercise of their right to self-defence in the discharge of their official duties.” We have enough visual and aural proof of this. It will be discussed in the continuing criminal investigation and magistrate’s inquiry.

To find the individuals who used violence, police are examining cellphone and CCTV footage. According to Kumar, in order to prevent confusion, the identities of persons recognized via videos are cross-checked and matched to their Aadhaar IDs. In a social media post, Nanital Police refuted any allegations of police harassment of women or children.

“Young guys from the Malik Ka Bagicha neighborhood were the only ones who perished in the fighting, except for one individual. We have a strong suspicion that they belonged to the gang. The DGP said that one individual could have been caught in the crossfire between the police and the crowd.

In support of an ongoing, legally authorized anti-encroachment campaign being conducted by civil authorities, police had gone to Banbhoolpura, he said, saying that the accusations made against the Uttarakhand Police were unfounded. There was a violent mob that assaulted them.

Authorities also emphasized that Abdul Malik, the primary accused who is shown in a video disputing with the police and displaying certain documents, had not received any relief from the high court. On August 8, at around 1:00 PM, the high court was shifted. There was no stay granted. The issue was scheduled on the 18th. In what way was the police’s conduct incorrect? Kumar asked, adding that the police want to operate impartially and in strict compliance with the law.