The prohibition orders came hours after the Supreme Court ordered the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary to record the state’s stance that no “untoward situation” or “inappropriate utterances” would occur during the event.
The Haridwar district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in a 5-km area of the village on Tuesday, following the announcement of a mahapanchayat by Hindu religious leaders in Dada Jalalpur village near Roorkee to discuss the recent violence and stone pelting in the village.
The prohibition orders came hours after the Supreme Court ordered the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary to record the state’s stance that no “untoward situation” or “inappropriate utterances” would occur during the event.
Swami Anand Swaroop, a Haridwar-based religious leader and one of the event’s organisers, told The Indian Express that they will proceed with their preparations and reach the village on Wednesday. He stated that he, along with members of the Dharam Sansad core committee such as Yatindranand Giri, Prabodhanand Saraswati, Parmanand ji Maharaj, and others, will be part of the mahapanchayat.
According to him, a mahapanchayat meeting has been called to address police activity and their failure to apprehend the key perpetrators in the communal violence that occurred in the hamlet on April 16 during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.
Several people were hurt, and at least four vehicles were set on fire as a result of the unrest. So far, 14 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, all of whom are members of the minority group.
“We had given them (the authorities) a week’s time, which ended Tuesday. We had already announced that after one week we will organise a mahapanchayat and everyone should accept whatever the mahapanchayat decides.”
Section 144 CrPC has been enforced in the area as a precautionary measure, according to DIG (Garhwal Range) Karan Singh Nagnyal. He explained, “This is not only for the projected mahapanchayat, but also to ensure peace and law and order in the area.”
Section 144 has been enforced in a 5 km area of the hamlet, according to Haridwar SSP Yogendra Singh Rawat, and no assembly or gathering is permitted there.
“Heavy police force has been deployed in the area to stop the mahapanchayat as no permission has been granted to anyone. If anyone tries [to organise it], it will be considered an illegal activity. Around 200 police personnel and 100 inspectors and sub-inspectors have been deployed. Additionally, five companies of PAC have also been sent to the area. The entire issue is being monitored by the Supreme Court and we do not want any leniency. If anyone tries to break the law, strict action will be taken.”
No authorization has been issued for any mahapanchayat, according to Haridwar District Magistrate Vinay Shankar Pandey.
“It is clear that no event will be organised tomorrow. So far, preventive action has been taken against 33 people who were involved in organising the event. We will follow the Supreme Court guidelines and no one has the right or permission to take law in their hands.”
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