India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—UP police filed as many as 350 FIRS against 5000 named and over one lakh unidentified persons during anti-CAA agitation in 2020.
This has been revealed in a report compiled by Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and released at Press Club of India on Wednesday.
Here is a press statement issued by APCR on its report.
“With the passage of Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019, the states all across India witnessed the unprecedented protests from people of all faiths, race, caste and creed opposing the discriminatory and arbitrary CAA legislation which if proceeded by the nationwide NRC and NPR as in State of Assam, threatens millions of Indian Muslims and throws the community into a citizenship crisis. As the massive protests erupted across leading to international scrutiny and criticism on this visibly discriminatory law, a violent crackdown to quell the protests was reported in many parts of the country. The heart of this crackdown was the state of Uttar Pradesh where the BJP-led government initiated unprecedented police brutality against the protestors resulting in the death of 23 innocent people.
“The nation today is in the middle of the most serious crises when all of it’s democratic institutions have come under attack in the last decade. Judiciary, media, election commission, parliamentary democracy all are being pushed to the wall. Fundamental rights of the people are being undermined by unforeseen might of the state apparatus. In this time of crisis, we as a civil and human rights advocacy group feel our responsibility to uphold the citizens’ rights guaranteed in the Indian constitution and the International Human Rights Law.
“The report titled “The Struggle for Equal Citizenship in Uttar Pradesh and its Costs: A saga of omnibus FIRs, Loot, Arrests and Harassment of Muslim minority” which was released today in the Press Club of India at New Delhi is an attempt to highlight the form and extent of the crackdown on the democratic protests for equal citizenship and its aftermath, in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
“The report also sheds light on the sheer brazenness of the state machinery in its violation of almost all the Constitutional mandates of the state government while dealing with peaceful dissent. No accountability and penalty on the state government is fixed even today. After two years of the ghastly repression of the civil protest, there has been no attempt to either compensate the families of the dead, or to the survivors who suffered loss of limbs and property. There has not been any significant attempt to initiate impartial investigations into police atrocities against the protesters. While the harassment of the protestors continues.
“Based on verified information in the public domain and accessing legal documents, an estimated 350 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered regarding these protests against around 5000 named individuals and over 100,000 unknown persons, which gives a free license to the state police to implicate any person in these cases and subject him/her to unnecessary harassment without any fault. Our findings also concluded that about 3,000 people (dominantly Muslim) were illegally arrested without any due process of law under fabricated charges. Out of them many are still languishing in the jails even after more than two years since the anti-CAA protests began. On the first call of all India protests against CAA and NRC on December 19 in the year 2019, the state administration intimidated around 3000 people with ‘caution’ notices to stop them from exercising their fundamental right to protest. On the same day around 3305 people were detained which rose to 5400 within two days and many were later implicated in the same FIRs as mentioned above. Over 500 recovery notices for the damages to the public property have been arbitrarily issued, without due legal process, across ten districts for damages worth an estimated Rs.3.55 crores which the Supreme Court recently termed as illegal and unconstitutional. However, this does not reverse the torture and harassment they faced and after succumbing to it, some even ended up paying these unlawful fines. In the Kanpur district alone, around 15 families, mostly daily wagers, unaware of the due legal process even paid Rs 13, 476 each.
“We want to press upon the state government to immediately release official data in public domain regarding the number of FIR’s registered, people arrested, detained, accused, bailed, booked under stringent anti-terror legislations and other draconian laws in connection with the anti-CAA protests and also the details of those were sent recovery notices, properties attached and auctioned if any. The government must release a detailed report on the status of all these cases. All the fabricated cases against more than 1,00,000 peaceful anti-CAA protesters should immediately and unconditionally withdrawn by the state government.
“We strictly demand an expedited, fair and transparent court monitored inquiry into the state repression that has resulted in extra judicial killings, torture, and several other forms of state violence. The public officials and other individuals found guilty of indulging in excesses must be held accountable for their actions as per law. Any enquiry into the violence that took place during the anti-CAA protests must include in its purview allegations of involvement by members of the ruling party in fomenting violence.
“We urge the state government for a comprehensive compensation package for the kith and kin of those who were killed in police action including those who have suffered temporary or permanent disabilities due to unjustified police action.
“We believe that it is high time for initiating an urgent dialogue at the national level, with citizens, parliamentarians, legal experts and activists towards repeal of draconian, unconstitutional, and undemocratic legislations such as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, (UAPA), AFSPA, National Security Act (NSA), Sedition that are being grossly (mis)used to quell fundamental rights of citizens in the country including the notorious Uttar Pradesh Prohibition of Unlawful Religious Conversion Ordinance, 2020 that has become an easy tool to incarcerate youths in the bogey religious conversions. All of these go against several international conventions on human rights violations that India has ratified.
“Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) demands the Union government to rethink and revisit its stance on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 which violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India, taking note of the severe harm that this legislation has already done to the citizenry and the reputation of our nation. Anti-CAA dissenters are the equal and bonafide citizens of the country, we firmly believe that a people’s government must respect the people’s mandate and repeal this unwarranted and unconstitutional legislation. We need laws that respect human rights, celebrate diversity and promote unity while providing a conducive environment for the peaceful exercise of everyone’s rights that takes our country towards achieving new milestones of progress and prosperity.
“The burden is not alone on the government, the honorable Supreme court must also pay heed to the hundreds of petitions including ours (Association for Protection of Civil Rights vs Union of India), that challenge the constitutional validity of several provisions of the Citizenship Act and prays for restrictions on the nationwide NRC exercise. The Supreme Court must expeditiously hear these petitions and dispose off the matter at the earliest.”
