(WNAM Monitoring): International media reported that at least five people were killed and 150 others injured following protests due to the demolition of a mosque and a religious school in northern India.
According to international media, the incident occurred precisely when municipal authorities in the city of Haldwani in the northern state of Uttarakhand demolished buildings with bulldozers on Thursday, stating that they were constructed without permits.
The country’s police have stated that Muslims in the protests set vehicles on fire and hurled stones towards them, prompting them to respond with bullets and tear gas.
A senior police official in Uttarakhand told the Indian Express newspaper on Friday that five people were killed in these protests, but did not disclose their identities.
Dozens of others, including police officers, were injured and are undergoing treatment in various hospitals in the city.
Meanwhile, the governor of Uttarakhand state said that in addition to enforcing curfew regulations, authorities have been compelled to cut off the internet and close schools in Haldwani following the violence.
This comes as Amnesty International, citing a minimum of 128 demolition orders in response to violence or mass protests in five Indian states between April and June 2022, has condemned such actions.
