Anti-CAA Protest in UP: Four Walk Out of Jail 10 Days After Arrest As Muzaffarnagar Police Fail to Link Them With Violence

Muzaffarnagar, January 3: Four persons walked out of jail in Muzaffarnagar ten days after their arrest as Uttar Pradesh police admitted that they failed to link them with violence that broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 20. Ateeq Ahmed (24), Mohd Khalid (53), Shoaib Khalid (26) and a clerk at a government office were released on December 30 as no sufficient evidence was found against them. Ban Popular Front of India, Uttar Pradesh DGP Writes to MHA After Violent Anti-CAA Stir.

According to Satpal Antil, Muzaffarnagar City Superintendent of Police, the four were freed as per Section 169 of the CrPC as police had submitted a report saying they did not find evidence against them. "We are undertaking a very fair investigation and if we find that somebody was not part of rioting or stone-pelting, accordingly we are taking action," SP Antil was quoted by The Indian Express as saying. Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.

Asked why were the men arrested in the first place, the senior officer said that police suspected them to be part of a crowd that pelted stones during anti-CAA protests. The clerk, who is in his 50s, and his 20-year-old son were picked up from their residence on the night of December 20. They alleged that cops assaulted them and refused to give them water in custody. "When I asked for water, they told me to drink my own urine," one of the men alleged.

Ateeq Ahmed, a BSc student at Delhi’s Zakir Hussain College, was travelling to a hospital in Meerut with his ailing father Mohammed Haroon (52) and his mother Rukhsana. They were also accompanied by Haroon’s nephew Khalid (53) and his wife Firdaus, as well as Khalid’s son Shoaib (26). Their vehicle was stopped at Meenakshi Chowk. Alleging that they were involved in stone-pelting, cops arrested Ateeq, Khalid and Shoaib.

Khalid says they were offered water — although no food — and were not hit. Shoaib, however, claimed he did see others being beaten up. Violence broke out in several parts of Uttar Pradesh during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act on December 19. The violence saw clashes between protesters and armed police personnel. At least 18 people have been killed so far in the violence.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 03, 2020 08:26 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).