On 8 February 2024, municipal workers in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, demolished a mosque and madrasa in the Banbhoolpura area that the administration said stood illegally on government land. Crowds attacked officials and police and set the local police station on fire. Six people died of gunshot wounds, a curfew with shoot-at-sight orders followed, and over 90 people were arrested, more than 100 of them later booked under the UAPA. In July 2026 the Supreme Court upheld bail for the main accused, Abdul Malik, and doubted the UAPA charge.
Key takeaways
- The corporation demolished the Mariyam mosque and Abdul Razzaq Zakariya madrasa saying they stood on nazul (government) land. The High Court had heard a challenge that day but passed no stay.
- All six dead had bullet injuries. Police deny any death from police firing; families say police shot their relatives, and four families have sought an independent probe.
- Abdul Malik, called the mastermind and charged under the UAPA, says he was in Delhi and Noida that day. The state conceded he was not at the spot; he got bail in April 2026.
Background: the land and the court case
The mosque and madrasa were built in 2002 in Banbhoolpura's Company Bagh locality and were looked after by Abdul Malik and his wife Safia Malik LiveLaw. Municipal commissioner Pankaj Upadhyay said they stood on nazul land, government land meant for public use Scroll.
Safia Malik's petition says the land was leased by the colonial government in 1937 for agricultural use and passed to her family in 1994. A plea for freehold rights had been pending with the district administration since 2007 Scroll.
On 30 January 2024 the corporation served Abdul Malik a notice calling the structures a "namaz site" and a "so-called madrasa" built illegally on nazul land, and told him to demolish and vacate them by 1 February. Scroll reported that it did not give the 10 days to show cause required under the 1972 eviction law Scroll. On 4 February the buildings were sealed.
Safia Malik moved the High Court on 6 February. On 8 February Justice Pankaj Purohit's bench only noted the parties' presence and listed the case for 14 February. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and the district magistrate said a court direction backed the drive; Scroll found the order contained none. Upadhyay said the demolition "was not backed by a court order" but that the family "did not get a stay" Scroll.
Timeline
Demolition begins
Officials and police reached Malik ka Bagicha at around 4 pm, according to the police FIR Scroll. Residents said they were shown no order The Wire.
Stones, petrol bombs and a burnt police station
Claim · Officials After stones were thrown, a second mob with petrol bombs surrounded the police station, trapped those inside and torched vehicles Business Standard.
Curfew and shoot-at-sight order
The district magistrate imposed a curfew from 9 pm and gave orders to shoot rioters on sight. Internet services were suspended Tribune/PTI The Quint.
Probe ordered, curfew narrowed
Kumaon Commissioner Deepak Rawat was told to hold a magisterial inquiry within 15 days. Curfew was lifted outside Banbhoolpura Tribune/PTI.
Police post on the site, sixth death
Dhami said a police station would be built on the demolished site; a temporary post opened there on 13 February, the day a sixth victim died Scroll Scroll.
Curfew ends
The curfew was lifted completely from Banbhoolpura after 12 days; 68 people had been arrested by then Navbharat Live.
Abdul Malik arrested
Uttarakhand Police arrested Malik in Delhi Scroll. A court gave police 10 days' custody DT Next.
Deaths and injuries
Early figures varied: on 9 February the DM said two had died, while IANS quoted her as saying four were killed and over 300 injured Business Standard IANS. The toll reached six when a wounded man died in hospital on 13 February National Herald/PTI. The dead were five Haldwani residents, including a father and his teenage son, and a 24-year-old man from Bihar Scroll.
Post-mortem reports showed that all six died of bullet injuries Newslaundry. Who fired those bullets is the central dispute:
- Claim · Police SSP Prahlad Meena said police fired on magisterial orders and "no one died in the firing", as bodies were found the next day in hospitals Tribune/PTI. The DM said the order was to shoot rioters in the leg Tribune/PTI.
- Claim · Families Relatives of several of the dead told reporters that police shot them or were firing nearby Newslaundry Scroll.
- Claim · Fact-finding team A team from APCR and Karawan-e-Mohabbat said six were killed by police bullets and a seventh allegedly by a resident's gun, and locals feared 18 to 20 deaths. Police have not confirmed a seventh death SabrangIndia.
Injury counts differ: more than 60 hurt per officials to PTI, over 100 police per Business Standard, 250 police per DT Next Tribune/PTI Business Standard DT Next.
Both accounts
Residents' and civil society account
An eyewitness told The Wire that women were "beaten with lathis by male police officers" and at least four men were hit by bullets; residents said police fired at their doors at night The Wire. The fact-finding team said power was cut around 5 pm, masked men who seemed to be outsiders burnt the police station, and police later broke into homes and detained people widely SabrangIndia.
Police and government account
Government's position DM Vandana Singh said the drive was one of many anti-encroachment actions and that the attack was planned: "This was unprovoked and our team did not use any force." She asked that it not be seen as communal Outlook. Dhami called it a "planned attack", citing stockpiled stones and petrol bombs, and said women police were "brutally thrashed" Tribune/PTI. Police said they recovered seven pistols and 54 cartridges looted from the station PTI.
Arrests, UAPA and damages
FIR 21, filed on the night of 8 February, names Abdul Malik, his son Abdul Moeed and 14 others, says they incited the crowd with religious slogans, and invokes section 15 of the UAPA Scroll. Arrests rose from 30 on 11 February to 92 by early March National Herald/PTI ETV Bharat. By May 2024 police had applied the UAPA to 107 accused ETV Bharat.
Malik denies the charge. Hotel records, a former BJP MP and CCTV footage traced by Scroll place him in Noida and Delhi on 8 February Scroll. The prosecution says a meeting at his house on 30 January planned the attack High Court order.
On 13 February the municipal corporation served Malik a notice to pay Rs 2.44 crore for damage to government property Scroll. On 5 March it raised the claim to Rs 2.68 crore and warned it would seize his property if he did not pay within a week ETV Bharat. A court had earlier allowed attachment of the property of nine absconding accused, including Malik ETV Bharat.
What the courts said
- Demolition petition, 14 Feb 2024: Salman Khurshid argued the family should have had 15 days to reply, but accepted no relief was possible now. The court sought the state's reply LiveLaw.
- Default bail, 28 Aug 2024: A division bench granted default bail to 50 accused, after UAPA charges were added on 9 May 2024 and the trial court extended the 90-day limit. It found the investigation "sluggish" and the officer careless SCC Online Madhyamam. Safia Malik had got bail in July 2024.
- Malik, 2024: A single judge sent his bail plea to a division bench under the NIA Act LiveLaw; in November he got bail only in a land encroachment case ETV Bharat.
- Supreme Court, May 2026: The court cancelled default bail granted to two other accused in January 2025, finding police had recorded 65 witness statements in 90 days Verdictum.
- Malik's bail, 16 Apr 2026: A division bench granted bail after the state "fairly conceded" he was not at the spot, noting his son already had bail High Court order.
- Supreme Court, 31 Jul 2026: A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana dismissed the state's appeal LiveLaw Telangana Today.
If a mob goes and burns down a police station, will that per se attract UAPA?
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, Supreme Court, 31 July 2026 (LiveLaw)
The state called Malik the "main conspirator" and said the UAPA applied because public order was threatened. Justice Bagchi said public order and national security differ, adding: "If demoralizing of police is your concern, you should have obtained conviction in two years" LiveLaw.
Outcome
- Deaths: Six, all from bullet injuries; police deny any death from police firing.
- Curfew: 8 to 20 February 2024 in Banbhoolpura, with shoot-at-sight orders at first.
- Internet: Restored in the town after about four days Deccan Herald, but still off in Banbhoolpura on 15 February ETV Bharat.
- Cases: 92 arrested by March 2024; 107 accused under the UAPA by May 2024.
- Main accused: Abdul Malik on bail since April 2026.
What is still pending
The trial was still under way in July 2026, when the Supreme Court noted no conviction in two years LiveLaw. Four bereaved families have asked the High Court for FIRs, an independent probe and compensation; as of September 2025 there was no answer on who fired Newslaundry. The findings of Commissioner Rawat's magisterial inquiry have not been reported publicly in the sources reviewed, and no ruling on Safia Malik's challenge to the demolition was found.
Questions people ask
What happened in Haldwani on 8 February 2024?
Officials demolished a mosque and madrasa in Banbhoolpura that they said stood on government land. Crowds attacked officials and police and burnt the Banbhoolpura police station. Six people were killed by gunfire and a curfew was imposed.
Was the Haldwani madrasa demolished on a court order?
No court ordered it. The High Court heard Safia Malik's petition on 8 February but passed no stay. The municipal commissioner said the family simply had no stay.
How many people died in the Haldwani violence?
Six, per police, all with bullet injuries. Police say none died in police firing; families say police shot them.
Did Abdul Malik get bail?
Yes. The Uttarakhand High Court granted bail on 16 April 2026 and the Supreme Court refused to cancel it on 31 July 2026.
Why was UAPA used in the Haldwani case?
Police invoked section 15 of the UAPA over the attack on the police station. In July 2026 the Supreme Court said it had "serious doubt" about that charge.
Sources
- Scroll: Haldwani madrasa was demolished without order from high court, 9 Feb 2024
- LiveLaw: Uttarakhand HC seeks state's reply on Haldwani mosque-madrasa demolition, 15 Feb 2024
- The Wire: Five killed in Haldwani violence after madrasa demolition, 9 Feb 2024
- The Quint: Two dead after clashes in Haldwani, 8 Feb 2024
- Business Standard: Attack was pre-planned, says Nainital DM, 9 Feb 2024
- Outlook: Cops didn't provoke, says Nainital DM, 9 Feb 2024
- IANS: Four killed, over 300 injured in Haldwani, 9 Feb 2024
- Tribune/PTI: 6 'rioters' killed in Haldwani clashes; CM calls it 'planned attack', 9 Feb 2024
- Tribune/PTI: Magisterial probe ordered, curfew lifted from outer areas, 11 Feb 2024
- National Herald/PTI: 25 more arrested; Jamiat delegation visits area, 12 Feb 2024
- National Herald/PTI: One more dead as injured man succumbs, 13 Feb 2024
- Scroll: Haldwani violence toll rises to six, 13 Feb 2024
- Newslaundry: Families blame police for killings, 11 Feb 2024
- Newslaundry: 20 months on, no answers in Haldwani violence deaths, 11 Sept 2025
- SabrangIndia: Fact-finding report on Haldwani, 16 Feb 2024
- Deccan Herald: Internet back in town after 4 days, 11 Feb 2024
- ETV Bharat: Curfew relaxed in Banbhoolpura, 15 Feb 2024
- ETV Bharat: Court orders attachment of property of nine accused, 15 Feb 2024
- Navbharat Live: Curfew fully lifted from Banbhoolpura after 12 days, 20 Feb 2024
- Scroll: Key accused arrested in Delhi, 24 Feb 2024
- DT Next: 10-day police custody for Abdul Malik, 25 Feb 2024
- Scroll: Booked under UAPA, but CCTV footage and BJP leader reveal another story, 29 Feb 2024
- ETV Bharat: Corporation's Rs 2.68 crore notice to Abdul Malik, 5 Mar 2024
- ETV Bharat: 71 more accused booked under UAPA, 13 May 2024
- SCC Online: Uttarakhand HC grants default bail in Haldwani case, 30 Aug 2024
- Madhyamam: Bail granted to 50 accused, 29 Aug 2024
- LiveLaw: HC dismisses Abdul Malik's bail plea as not maintainable, 2 Sept 2024
- ETV Bharat: HC grants Malik bail in one of four cases, 25 Nov 2024
- Verdictum: Supreme Court sets aside default bail to two accused, 6 May 2026
- Uttarakhand High Court: Abdul Malik v. State of Uttarakhand, Criminal Appeal 161 of 2025, 16 Apr 2026
- LiveLaw: 'Is UAPA justified just because mob burnt police station?', 31 Jul 2026
- Telangana Today: SC refuses to cancel bail in Banbhoolpura case, 31 Jul 2026