Nainital’s Haldwani tense after mob vandalises shops over rumour of animal remains near temple

Tension gripped Haldwani in Uttarakhand’s Nainital district after rumours spread on Sunday night that the head of a calf had been found at the gate of a school near a temple.

The rumour led to anger, triggering vandalism and large-scale damage to shops and vehicles in the Banbhulpura area. The town saw heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces on Monday to prevent further unrest, The Indian Express reported.

According to the police, a crowd gathered in Banbhulpura on Sunday night after word spread on social media about the alleged discovery of animal remains. A complaint was filed by a local resident, Ravinder Gupta, against an unknown person.

However, CCTV footage showed a dog dragging the remains from a nearby forest area. Initial enquiries also indicated that an animal had recently given birth in the forest and parts of the carcass were likely pulled out by stray animals. The remains have been sent for forensic examination for confirmation, the report said.

Despite these findings, the rumour continued to circulate, drawing a mob that targeted shops and property owned by members of the minority community. Police eventually resorted to a lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

Seven detained in Haldwani

Superintendent of Police (Crime) Jagdish Chandra told The Indian Express that seven individuals were taken under preventive detention on Sunday night under Section 172 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNSS).

“We are identifying the crowd and will make arrests soon. The probe to trace the carcass is also underway,” the officer was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. Currently, the city has three deputy superintendents of police, officers from eight police stations and two companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary, the SP said.

An FIR registered in the case stated that “anti-social elements” gathered a crowd and created disturbance in several parts of the city. According to the report, around 40-50 unidentified persons vandalised Shama Restaurant on Bareilly Road, damaged nearby shops and vehicles, pelted stones in the Peeli Kothi area, and assaulted a tempo driver and other residents. They also allegedly issued threats to kill and attempted to disturb the peace of the city.

The FIR has been filed under sections 115(2), 125, 191(1), 191(2), 324(4) and 351(2) of the BNS, naming 40 to 50 unknown people as accused.

District’s law-and-order under court scrutiny

This year, the Nainital district’s handling of law and order has been questioned multiple times by the Uttarakhand High Court. When zila panchayat members were allegedly abducted to keep them from taking part in the election for chairperson, the High Court had said the Senior Superintendent of Police had “failed miserably”.

Earlier, another incident involving the sexual assault of a minor had also led to mob violence, drawing further attention from the court, which is headquartered in Nainital.