U'khand HC grants bail to Banbhoolpura violence mastermind in land grabbing case

Nainital, Nov 25 (PTI) The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday granted bail to Banbhoolpura violence mastermind Abdul Malik in a land grabbing case.

However, he will remain in jail as he has not got any relief from the high court in the case related to the February riots which had left six people dead.

In the land grabbing case, the bail was granted to Malik by Justice Ravindra Maithani.

Opposing his bail application, the state government said the Banbhoolpura incident had started due to this land.

When the administration went to remove the illegal encroachment, the personnel were pelted with stones. Later, it took the form of a riot, the government counsel said.

However, the petitioner's counsel argued that his client should be granted bail as the case is not related to the riots.

On February 8, 2024, violent clashes erupted in the Muslim-dominated Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani in the wake of a court-ordered demolition of an unauthorised madrassa in the locality.

Riots broke out when a madrassa on the encroached government land was being demolished. Malik was accused in the case of grabbing government land on the basis of forged documents. PTI COR ALM ALM KVK KVK