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CAA: Free those arrested, end the harassment

Last Updated 08 May 2020, 18:40 IST

There have been disquieting reports of arrests and harassment of a number of people who participated in or were associated with the countrywide protests which were held last year and early this year against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Most of those who have been arrested are members of the minority community and many of them are women. Condemnations of these arrests and protests against them have come from many quarters. Some days ago, over 300 academics, researchers and journalists issued a statement drawing attention to these arrests and the “harassment, interrogation and, in many instances, torture’’ of anti-CAA protesters. In another statement about 1,100 women from different walks of life, including teachers, activists and others, have also highlighted the arrests of Muslim women, students and protesters in the last few weeks and demanded an end to the harassment.

According to the activists, the Delhi police have targeted those who protested against the CAA at Shaheen Bagh and other places when the attention of the nation and the media was on the Covid-19 pandemic. According to reports, over 800 protesters have been arrested and charges under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sedition laws have been levelled against them. Family members of many of them have no information about them after they were picked up. Legal counsel and support are not available to those who are in custody. Both the statements have named a number of persons who have been arrested or detained. Some of them are student leaders from Jawaharlal Nehru University or Jamia Milia, many are women and most are Muslim. Many are also said to be victims of the communal violence witnessed in some parts of Delhi in February.

The police have claimed that the arrests were made as part of the investigation into the communal violence. But those who actually instigated violence, including BJP leaders and central ministers, and perpetrated the attacks on minorities have been left out and the victims are being rounded up and harassed. The women's memorandum says that the anti-CAA protests are being presented as the cause of the violence and the protesters are dubbed as the aggressors. The partisan conduct of Delhi Police was clear during the protests and even more so during the riots, and the charges made in the statements have confirmed it. The reports paint the picture of an authoritarian and unaccountable State acting against hapless citizens out of prejudice and vengeance under the cover of a lockdown at a time of national distress.

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(Published 08 May 2020, 16:28 IST)

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