India Tomorrow
LUCKNOW—Targetting the anti-CAA and anti-NRC activists, the UP police on Thursday arrested the family members of activist Zainab Siddiqui.
Among those, who were picked up along with Zainab included his brother and father.
However, Station House Office (SHO) of Hasanganj Police Station, when contacted, told India Tomorrow that it was Special Task Force (STF) personnel who had detained Zainab and her family members.
He said that while the STF, later on, released Zainab and her brother but handed over her father to anti-terrorist squad (ATS) for interrogation.
The official, however, did not say for what crime Zainab’s father was arrested and was being questioned by ATS.
“Even I don’t know on what charges Zainab’s has been arrested”, said the police official and abruptly disconnected the phone.
However, NGO Rihai Manch general secretary Rajiv Yadav told India Tomorrow that police on Thursday all of a sudden barged into the house of Zainab and asked her father if Zainab was associated with anti0-CAA and NRC agitations.
The cops, according to Rajiv, went back after they were told that Zainab worked with a women’s organization.
“However, they returned within an hour and started assaulting the family members with baton. Cops used abusive language for Zainab’s younger sisters, chased them on the road and assaulted them with lathis. About 10 to 15 policemen caught Zainab’s father, sister and mother and took them to Hasanganj Police Station”, alleged Rajiv.
Condemning the police atrocity, Rajiv demanded immediate release of Zainab’s family members and proper security for her family.
“Taking anybody to police station without any reason is illegal. The purpose of the harassment is to silence the voice of dissent. Yogi police is trying to silence the voice of dissent by ignoring Constitution and democracy”, Rajiv alleged.
27 anti-CAA activists externed from Aligarh
Meanwhile, Aligarh district administration has externed as many as 27 anti-CAA/NRC activists for six months from the district. Among them include former AMU students Sharjeel Usmani and Zaid Sherwani. Usmani is the son of a senior faculty member of AMU.
Corrigendum
The earlier photo in this story published on November 6 belonged to a different person, other than activist Zainab Siddiqui, whose father Naeem Siddiqui, has been arrested by UP’s Anti Terrorist Squad. It happened inadvertently. The error is deeply regretted.
