The protesters termed the Assam incident as “state atrocities on Muslims under the garb of land evictions.”
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Uttar Pradesh Police booked a group of students and activists under the Epidemic Diseases Act on Tuesday in Prayagraj/Allahabad where they held a demonstration on Sunday against recent killings in Assam’s Darrang district.
The protest was called by the Fraternity Movement, Students Islamic Organisation of India, All India Students Association, DISHA, WPI, PUCL, and Adhvikta Manch. The protesters gathered at Atala on Sunday.
The protesters termed the Assam incident as “state atrocities on Muslims under the garb of land evictions.”
According to a member of the Fraternity Movement, the FIR filed in Kareli police station on Tuesday names local activists Sarah Ahmad Siddiqui, Sabiya Mohani, Shaheen Fatima, Amit Pathak, Avinash Mishra, Shailesh Pasvan, Kamal Yusri.
Restrictions under the Epidemic Act are in place to block gathering of people amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. However, authorities have been accused of using the law selectively to allow pro-government gatherings while restricting protests invoking the fear of virus.
Official statement of @Fraternity_UP on the FIR. pic.twitter.com/O0nt781uzh
— Tazeen Junaid (@TazeenJunaid_) September 28, 2021
The student group condemned the police action “for intimidating protesters and trying to curb dissent” and demanded that the case should be withdrawn.
“We resolve to keep raising our voice against oppression and state-sponsored terrorism. We stand in solidarity with Sarah Ahmad and other activists named and unnamed,” read a statement from the Fraternity Movement.
Protests have been staged by rights groups across cities against the gruesome police violence in Assam that claimed at least two lives during the protest against eviction of 800 Bengali Muslim families in Sipahajar Darrang.
