Uttarkashi mosque demolition protest: Over 200 booked for attack on police during rally

Tight security in Uttarkashi on Friday (October 25,2024) following the shutdown call after a scuffle and stone-pelting broke out in a protest rally.
| Photo Credit: ANI

More than 200 people have been booked in connection with a stone-pelting incident that occurred during a right-wing outfit’s protest demanding demolition of a mosque allegedly built on the government land here.

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According to Uttarkashi Kotwali SHO Amarjeet Singh, eight people have been named in the FIRs registered under different sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Prohibitory orders under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) are in force across the district, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Amit Shrivastava said.

On Thursday (October 24, 2024), 27 people, including seven policemen, got injured during a protest by the Sanyukt Hindu Sangathan who demanded the demolition of a mosque in Barahat area alleging that it is built on government land.

The protesters sat on a dharna on the Gangotri National Highway and started reciting ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ but when they tried to remove the barricading, a scuffle broke out between them and the police.

Officials said some people started hurling stones, after which the police first fired tear gas shells and later lathicharged in which some protesters and policemen got injured. Flag marches were also conducted besides deployment of additional police personnel in sensitive areas, Mr. Shrivastava said.

‘Not on govt. land’

District Magistrate Meharban Singh Bisht and the SP toured the district and asked the officials to maintain order. The markets remained closed in response to a bandh call given by the outfit. The protesters have alleged that the mosque built in the Barahat area is an illegal construction on government land.

However, the district administration has clarified that it was built on the land belonging to people of the Muslim community.