UP: The epicentre of anti-CAA protests



LUCKNOW

democracy

Samajwadi Party

Yogi Adityanath

Priyanka Gandhi

Banaras Hindu University

Since protests against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act broke out in Uttar Pradesh last week, many of which took violent turns, more than 1,100 people have been arrested and 5,558 have been put under preventive detention, officials said on Thursday.The toll in police clashes across the state has risen to 19. Of these, five people were killed in Firozabad, four in Meerut, three in Kanpur, two each in Sambhal and Bijnor and one each in Muzaffarnagar, Rampur and Lucknow.This tally does not take into account the eight-year-old killed in Varanasi on December 20.“The eight-year-old was not killed in police action but in a stampede when protesters were retreating,” a senior police official said.One of those injured in Firozabad is in a “very critical” condition.“During raids, we recovered 35 illegal weapons which were used to fire at the police,” the official said adding that 647 empty cartridges were also recovered from various places in the state.Anticipating widespread violence, state police has put 5,558 people under preventive detention. As many as 351 policemen were also injured in the anti-CAA protests.Among the 1,113 arrested are social activist and Congress worker Sadaf Jafar and noted theatre artist Deepak Kabir who are being kept in a Lucknow jail. Kabir was arrested when he had gone to check on the report of Jafar’s arrest.A journalist with The Hindu was also briefly detained by the police.While Kabir is one of the founders of the Lucknow Collective and Dastak Manch and organises the annual Kabir Festival in Lucknow where values of secularism, socialism andare celebrated through various literary forms, Jafar is an actor who is part of Mira Nair’s upcoming BBC series “A Suitable Boy”.Jafar’s family has alleged she suffered internal injuries because of police action. Similar allegations have been levelled by Kabir’s family too. The Lucknow Police have faced several more allegations of excesses in curbing protests.As a precautionary measure, security has been beefed up and patrolling intensified in thr state to ensure peace during Friday prayers.Meanwhile, the process to confiscate property of those involved in damaging public assets during the protests has gained momentum with 372 persons being served notices in different districts.As a precautionary measure, internet services, that were resumed after remaining unavailable for nearly a week, were again suspended in several places to prevent rumour-mongering.Official sources said other district administrations have also issued notices to people to make them pay for the losses caused by them in arson and stone-pelting.The maximum of 200 notices were issued in Moradabad followed by 110 in Lucknow, 34 in Gorakhpur and 29 in Firozabad, an official spokesman said .Sambhal district administration has issued notices to 26 people for their alleged involvement in damaging state properties during protests against the amended law, asking them to explain their position or pay for the losses.Superintendent of Police, Sambhal, Yamuna Prasad said posters of 150 people have been released and 55 have been identified for their involvement in violent protests.Apreliminary probe in anti-CAA violence in Kanpur suggested role of Bangladeshis and Kashmiris.“Our investigation has revealed that violence during the protests on Friday and Saturday in Kanpur took place in an organised manner,” Senior Superintendent of Police (Kanpur) Anand Deo Tiwari said.“Preliminary probe suggested the involvement of people including Bangladeshis and Kashmiris,” he said, adding there was “ample evidence” to strongly indicate their involvement.Alleging the BJP government was “afraid” of Hindu-Muslim unity,chief Akhilesh Yadav sought to know when a probe into “police brutality” on protesters in the state will be ordered.“The government is afraid of Hindu-Muslim unity. It is making allegations that people are criminals. It wants to confiscate property of the poor. It is commenting on people’s dress-...Threatening to take revenge from citizens.But it should tell (people) when will it initiate probe into police brutality,” Yadav tweeted in Hindi.Also, on Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh Shia Central Waqf Board said Indian Muslims do not have any threat from the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Hindustani Muslims do not have any threat from the NRC. It should be implemented in the entire country. The real matter is related to identification of intruders, who are the real threat to the country,” UPSCWB Chairman Waseem Rizvi said.Aminister on a visit to Bijnor refused to meet the families of the two Muslim men who died in the recent protests against the new citizenship law, terming them “upadravi” (vandals).“Why should I go to a vandals’ place? They were involved in vandalism and arson,” Kapil Dev Agarwal said when questioned about his decision to not visit the homes of the two Muslim families.Agarwal, the vocational education and skill development minister in thegovernment, did meet Om Raj Saini, who was injured in the violence that hit the Nahtaur area in the district.Congress leaderVadra on Sunday met the families of those dead in the violence in Bijnor.When a mediaperson confronted the UP minister on his alleged discriminatory decision, Agarwal retorted with, “Why should I go to the homes of vandals? This is not at all about being social or about Hindus and Muslims.”A report from Varanasi said 51professors ofand its affiliate colleges have started a signature campaign to lodge their protest against the arrest of some BHU students who were staging a peaceful protest against CAA and NRC in the city.