'Will Take Such an Action...': Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami's Warning to Haldwani Rioters

Dehradun: Issuing a stern warning to rioters, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that his administration will come down heavily on the culprits. "Will take such an action against rioters that it will become an example for the future," Dhami said. Earlier, CM Dhami visited Haldwani, meeting some of the injured. He termed the violence a “planned attack”, and said the stockpiling of arms, stones and petrol bombs suggested this.

"Our women police personnel were brutally thrashed. They even tried to throw a journalist into the flames. It was an attempt to disrupt the atmosphere of social amity and peace for which Uttarakhand is known," he told reporters. "Action will be taken. Law will take its own course," he said, adding, “Every rioter involved in arson and stone pelting should be identified and strictest action taken against them."

Six rioters were killed in the violence that broke out over the demolition of an illegally built madrasa, officials said Friday as curfew remained enforced in Uttarakhand's Haldwani town. More than 60 people were hurt Thursday as local residents hurled stones and petrol bombs at municipal workers and the police, forcing many police personnel to seek refuge in a police station which the mob then set on fire. Seven people, including a journalist, were under treatment Friday at three different hospitals. Three of them were said to be in a serious condition. Others had been discharged.

(With inputs from PTI)