“We have been informed that many people were falsely named, were elderly and bed-ridden. Surely no action will be taken against them”
Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh’s Police from Ferozabad district included a dead man in its list of 200 potential troublemakers who, accordingly, could disrupt peace during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), on Thursday.
“My father died six years ago, has been booked under sections 107 (security for keeping the peace in other cases) and 116 (inquiry as to truth of information) of the Code of Criminal Procedure because the police believe he is likely to disturb public peace,” said Mohammad Sarfaraz Khan, the son of Banne Khan.
The police officials gave the notice to Mohammad Sarfaraz Khan at his residence. When he showed them his father’s death certificate, Mohammad Sarfaraz Khan got rebuked and told that Banne Khan had to appear before a magistrate and submit a bail application within a week or “else he would be arrested”.
Similar notices were given to others by the UP police include 90-year-old Sufi Abar Hussain and 93-year-old Fasahat Meer Khan. Sufi Abur Hussain worked at Jama Masjid in Lucknow city for 58 years, whereas Fasahat Meer Khan used to be a social activist. “My father is a popular social worker and has even met former President APJ Abdul Kalam at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” said Mohammad Tahir, the son of Fasahat Meer Khan said to media. “I fail to understand why cops have issued notice to him.”
The police have identified potential miscreants through intelligence inputs provided by beat constables. On December 20 Firozabad City Magistrate Kunwar Pankaj said there was a lot of pressure after violence broke out. “We received reports from many police stations and action was taken,” he added. “We have been informed that many people were falsely named, were elderly and bed-ridden. Surely no action will be taken against them.”
On December 20, Chief Minister Adityanath had said revenge would be taken who had damaged public property during the agitation. The Opposition parties criticized the chief minister’s statements and sought a judicial probe into the police action.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
