Uttarakhand Muslims allege collective crackdown after 'I Love Muhammad' protest

The Association for Protection of Civil Rights fact-finding team claimed that the Muslims in the Kashipur neighbourhood of Uttarakhand are being collectively punished after a religious procession escalated into violence earlier this week, with multiple residents alleging acts of vandalism, unlawful demolitions, police intimidation, and detention of children.

The report titled, Kashipur Silence: Punitive Policing and the Burden of Dissent, states that the “I Love Muhammed” procession on September 21 in Alikhan was initially peaceful but ended with clashes between police and protesters when the authorities allegedly harassed a group of boys near the site.

The police, meanwhile, insist that the march with over 400 to 500 people was unauthorised, during which officers were assaulted and vehicles damaged.

Seven individuals, including the Samajwadi Party leader Nadeem Akhtar, were arrested, while police registered cases against nearly 500 others. Residents alleged that the subsequent crackdown focused only on their Muslim-majority ward.

“Bulldozers came the next morning without notice. They broke down our shops, even small vegetable stalls,” one shopkeeper said, according to the report. “We have proof of what was destroyed, but no one dares to speak openly. We are too afraid.”

The report further states that 20-25 shops were demolished, ration cards reverified with threats of cancellation and electricity meters were changed.

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Children as young as ten years of age were detained by police, subjected to custodial torture and sent to juvenile homes in Rudrapur, witnesses claimed. Their parents reportedly told the fact-finding team that their sons denied mistreatment in the presence of officers but eventually admitted to being assaulted.

Members of the community referred to the actions as the ‘Haldwani model’ of collective punishment, referencing a previous crackdown in another town in Uttarakhand. Many have said that the authorities only want to scare them into silence because the residents know they will face police action if they talk to the media.

According to the fact-finding team, the events point to a breakdown in trust between the state and the local Muslim community. The report warned that arbitrary arrests, custodial abuse, and punitive demolitions “deepen alienation and fear,” urging an independent probe and safeguards for fundamental rights.

The APCR states the police action that originated in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, over religious banners has escalated into a nationwide crackdown, resulting in 21 registered cases and 1,324 Muslims being named as accused, with 28 persons arrested.

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