Highlights
- On December 20, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government will take revenge against those who are protesting against the CAA, a law protesters have said discriminates against Muslims.
- Since then, dozens of recovery notices have been issued to Muslims in Rampur and other districts, asking them to pay money for destruction of public and private properties.
A day after Gulf News highlighted how Indian media has documented brutal crackdown on Muslims by police after spontaneous protests erupted in northern state of Uttar Pradesh, more reports of police high-handedness emerged on Thursday.
Times of India reported that police have registered cases against 1,300 students of Aligarh Muslim University for taking out a candle march against India’s controversial Citizenship Amendment Act. Three student leaders Salman Imtiyaz, Huzaifa Imtiyaz and Amir Mintoe have been accused of attempting to snatch a revolver of a police officer and stealing five bullets. The student leaders and 1,300 unknown students have been booked under sections 395 (Dacoity), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from performing his duty) and 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharging his duty), the newspaper reported on Thursday, adding that so far seven students have been taken into custody. These serious charges of Indian Penal Code have the potential to derail careers of students.
A fact-finding report prepared by human rights activists, lawyers and journalists released on Tuesday in New Delhi accused the police of entering hostels and lobbing tear gas shells into hostel rooms to smoke out students. Based on the testimonies of around 100 students, teachers and university officials, the report said the students were treated by police as terrorists. “Stun grenades are used only in war situations, or militarised police action such as against dangerous terrorists, never to quell student protests. Their use does not form part of the SOPs of normal law and order disturbances. And even during war, ambulances are permitted to rescue the injured,” the report says.
Recovery notices
On December 20, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said his government will take revenge against those who are protesting against the CAA, a law protesters have said discriminates against Muslims. Since then, dozens of recovery notices have been issued to Muslims in Rampur and other districts, asking them to pay money for destruction of public and private properties. A total of 28 notices were issued in Rampur and 60 in Gorakhpur, another town, besides Muzaffarnagar, where residents have accused the police of entering their homes and vandalizing bedrooms, kitchen, vehicles and assaulting women and elderly.
Gulf News on Thursday obtained a copy of one such recovery notice issued to a resident in Rampur. The newspaper is withholding the name of the resident to protect his identity. The one-page recovery notice has listed 11 demands, asking the recipient to pay for destruction of public property.
Here are some of the demands:
Money spent on police’s use of non-lethal weapons, including tear gas shells, rubber bullets and plastic pellets
Damage to barriers set up by municipality and police during protests (Rs 35,0000)
Damage to police wireless sets and hooters
Damage to 10 police canes, three helmets, three body protectors, three shields (Rs 31,500)
Police jeep (Rs 750,000) and motorcycle (Rs 65,000)
The notice also listed unspecified losses to the business community on December 21 and 22 due to protests. Issued by a magistrate, the notice has set a seven-day deadline to the recipient to present himself in a court.
Police vandalising homes
On Wednesday, Gulf News highlighted how Indian media has documented incidents of police entering homes of Muslims and vandalising private property in at least two cities of Gorakhpur and Muzzaffarnagar. Evidence against the police brutality is mounting as more CCTV videos have emerged, showing police vandalising homes, mosques and vehicles in AMU.
News website Milineum Post published a report quoting Vikram Singh, former Director General of Police, who said: “The senior police officers present on the ground should be held accountable for the action of the lower staff. The police force is the saviour of rights, where would the people go if the police themselves take law in their own hands. This is criminals breach of trust. The policemen indulging into violence should be identified and terminated.”
“Hi Kanpur Nagar police, I have many many videos of your alleged high handedness in the ‘crackdown’ over the violence in the city over CAA, but this clip I have confirmed as 100 per cent authentic so putting it out. It shows your men vandalising shops and cars,” Senior journalist Alok Pandey of NDTV tweeted with the video.
The ‘rogue’ gallery
Meanwhile, police have begun distributing hundreds of posters with pictures of residents who participated in protests against the citizenship law in Kanpur, Mau, Firozabad, Gorakhpur and Bijnor. In some cases, rewards of up to Rs 25,000 have been promised for identifying residents whose pictures are printed on the posters, Indian Express reported. These posters have been posted at public places and distributed through WhatsApp.
The newspaper quoted Anurag Arya, Superintendent of Police in Mau, who said: “Three FIRs [police complaints] were lodged in connection with the incident in which 21 people have been arrested so far. We identified 110 other miscreants involved in the violence. Since we have no information about these 110 people, we released posters carrying their photographs.”
