According to the police, a mahapanchayat that was scheduled for June 18 in Dehradun was cancelled after Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami promised to take action. SSP Dehradun Dilip Singh Kunwar said, “There was an in-principle agreement between the parties and the proposed mahapanchayat has been cancelled after talks were held at several levels and on the assurance of the Chief Minister’s action.” The Uttarkashi district administration on Wednesday refused permission for a Mahapanchayat proposed to be held on June 15 in Uttarakhand’s Purola town, which has been witnessing communal tensions over an alleged attempt to abduct a minor girl last month.
The Chief Minister said, “We have appealed to all the people to maintain peace.” He said that if anyone tries to vitiate the atmosphere, the law will take its course. “In the incidents that have happened so far, the administration has acted properly. If someone is guilty then the law will work against him. No one should take the law into their hands,” he added.
Earlier, the mahapanchayat at Dehradun was called following a meeting of the Ulema and some responsible people under the chairmanship of city Qazi Maulana Mohammad Ahmad Kazmi at Jama Masjid in Doon’s Paltan Bazar. According to the municipal Qazi, participants in the mahapanchayat were to be Muslim residents of Dehradun, Vikasnagar, Haridwar, Roorkee, Haldwani, and Udhamsinghnagar.