Uttarakhand High Court Orders Action Against BJP Leader Over Alleged Role In Communal Violence Plot

The Uttarakhand High Court has directed the Nainital police to take prompt action against Ramnagar BJP leader Madan Joshi for allegedly conspiring to incite communal violence. The court has instructed the police to file a detailed report within seven days, PTI reported. 

The directive came while hearing a protection petition filed by Noorjahan, the wife of Nasir, a driver who was assaulted on October 23 in Chhoi after being accused of transporting beef.

Noorjahan’s counsel, Advocate Mrinal Kanwar, told the court that Joshi had been “repeatedly posting and going live on Facebook with inflammatory content” in the days leading up to the incident.

Based on Noorjahan’s complaint, an FIR has been registered against Madan Joshi, Raju Rawat, Sagar Manral, Pankaj, and Karan, along with 20 to 30 unidentified individuals.

The High Court further directed the police to ensure that Joshi and his associates refrain from posting any provocative material on social media. It also ordered that all previously uploaded inflammatory posts by Joshi be taken down from Facebook.

During the proceedings, the police informed the bench that the meat found in the vehicle at Chhoi was buffalo meat and that the consignment carried both a valid licence and a food safety certificate issued by a supplier from Bareilly.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice G. Narendra and Justice Subhash Upadhyay instructed the police to strictly adhere to the Supreme Court’s guidelines laid out in the Tehseen Poonawalla case regarding mob violence, emphasising that they must not yield to any political pressure.

The police had requested time until 2 PM on Wednesday to file their report. When the hearing resumed, officials informed the court that two individuals had been arrested in connection with the case, and that further arrests were likely.

With PTI inputs