An Indian city imposed a curfew and ordered police to shoot violators

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LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Authorities in a northern Indian city have imposed an indefinite curfew and ordered police to shoot violators after clashes over the construction of a Muslim seminary and mosque that left at least five dead and more than 150 injured, officials said Friday. . .

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Thursday's violence forced authorities to close Internet services and schools in Haldwani, Uttarakhand state government chief Radha Raturi said.

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The situation was brought under control, about 4,000 police officers rushed to the area, police officer A.P. Anshuman said. He said the police had been ordered to shoot protesters who violated the curfew.

On Thursday, thousands of protesters tried to block government officials and police from demolishing the seminary and mosque after a court ruled that the structures were being built on government land without local permission, Anshuman said.

As the violence escalated, police used petrol bombs and stones to attack a police station, used live bullets and tear gas to disperse demonstrators and set fire to several vehicles, Anshuman said.

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State police chief Abhinav Kumar said five people were killed in the violence. He did not give details but said no new violence was reported on Friday.

Government Administrator Vandana Singh Chauhan said more than 150 police officers were injured and several were taken to hospital.

Anshuman did not say whether police fire killed the protesters. He also did not identify the religion of the victims.

Haldwani is about 270 kilometers (170 mi) northeast of New Delhi.

Muslim groups and human rights groups have accused India's Hindu nationalist government of destroying their homes and businesses in the past. Officials have defended their actions by saying they were only targeting illegal buildings, but critics call it a growing pattern of “bulldozing justice” aimed at punishing minority activists.

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In a report released this week, Amnesty International condemned several cases of bulldozers destroying Muslim homes, businesses and places of worship, often under the guise of illegal encroachment and without proper warning.

“The illegal demolition of Muslim properties by the Indian authorities, bought as 'bulldozer justice' by political leaders and the media, is brutal and appalling. Such displacement and dispossession are extremely unjust, illegal and discriminatory,” said Agnes Callamard, secretary general of the rights group.

The group's researchers found that between April and June 2022, authorities in five states used demolitions as punishment after incidents of public violence or protests, documenting at least 128 demolitions during that period.

Critics and opponents have long accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of looking the other way and sometimes allowing hate speech against Muslims, who make up 14 percent of India's 1.4 billion people.

Modi's Bhartiya Janata Party denies the allegations.

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