Mohammed Javed, arrested over Prayagraj protests, has history of agitation

The Uttar Pradesh police on Sunday demolished the house of Mohammed Javed, an alleged conspirator behind the violence that broke out in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, over Nupur Sharma’s remark on Prophet Mohammed.

Javed and his daughter Afreen Fatima have participated in several protests and agitations in the past. A prominent member of the city’s civil society, Javed is a central working committee member of the Welfare Party of India. Afreen is national secretary of the Fraternity Movement, the student wing of the party.

Javed was arrested by the district police on Saturday over his alleged involvement in Friday's Prayagraj protests. According to a report in Indian Express, SSP Ajay Kumar said that, during questioning, Javed claimed that Afreen often gave him suggestions. However, no evidence was found against her during the preliminary probe, he said.

Welfare Party President SQR Ilyas said, "Javed has been our loyal member since 2011. He has held several posts in the party. We are doing everything possible to help him legally. He is being framed. He was not part of the protest, nor did he give any call on Friday."

Also read: BJP earns right-wing's ire over Nupur Sharma controversy

A Prayagraj activist said that Javed was part of protests in the city for over 30 years. "Who wasn’t there for the CAA protests?," he told IE. "The entire civil society was there. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, atheists... everyone took part and so did Javed."

Javed’s political career began in the 1980s during his student days at Ewing Christian College in Prayagraj, where he pursued his BA. A civil society member said that Javed worked round the clock to coordinate with relief camps and arrange food, shelter and transport for migrant workers during the second Covid wave.

Afreen has also been active in student politics for several years with a focus on issues concerning Muslims and women. She was president of the Women’s College Students' Union in 2018-2019 at Aligarh Muslim University where she completed her BA in Linguistics. Later, she did her Master’s at JNU, where she was elected as a councillor in the students' union.

"Afreen was part of my council and was a very vocal student activist on campus," said JNUSU President Aishe Ghosh. "She was part of the anti-fee hike protests, the anti-CAA movement and was there when many of us were assaulted on campus in 2020. We will stand by her and give her whatever help she requires."

Afreen had also visited Udupi and Mangalore during the hijab ban controversy and interacted with protesters there.