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On June 1, a scrap dealer's shop was being forcibly emptied in Roorkee. This was allegedly being done by the supporters of Khanpur's former MLA Kunwar Pranav Singh "Champion". Mehboob Hassan, the shop owner, said that during this ransacking a holy book in his shop was defiled. This led to a communal clash where at least 32 people, including 12 policemen, were injured.

On June 7, a week after the incident, the police arrested Hassan, alleging that his story about the mob was false. "We arrested Hassan on Monday after finding him responsible for the violence," Manohar Singh, senior sub-inspector of Landaura police post, told the Times of India. The police arrested a further 22 people, and booked another 150 for their alleged role in the clashes.

After the incident, Singh announced plans for a mahapanchayat in a speech given in Sherpur, a village in the Haridwar district. In the speech, Champion is reported to have criticised Mahatma Gandhi and encouraged violence against Muslims.

The video above, made by Samachar News, features Singh, who was elected on a Congress ticket but joined the BJP with eight other MLAs, all of whom were subsequently disqualified. Waving a pistol, Singh makes blatantly communal and incendiary statements.

A local newspaper reported that around 6,000 people had gathered before the scheduled event was cancelled by the Uttar Pradesh police force.

"Since the prohibitory orders under the section 144 are still in place in Landaura and other nearby places so no one can move in these place in group. That is why his (Singh's) entry has been restricted," joint magistrate Roorkee division Mayur Dixit said.

Singh has said that he will announce another date for the event over the next few days.