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FIR against 135, 20 arrested on sedition charges in UP's Azamgarh for holding anti-CAA protests

Police have booked 135 people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) for sedition and arrested 20 of them in the Azamgarh's Bilariaganj area.

The police have been accused of high handedness including lathicharging woman and flooding the park to stop people from protesting. 

The FIR, which lists sedition among the charges, names 35 people while the rest are unidentified, police said.

The protesters allege that they were attacked by the police at around 4 am to forcefully evict them. As the protesters accused the police of thrashing them, police said in its defence that they used tear gas shells to tackle the crowd when it became unruly. 

"The FIR has been registered against 35 named and over 100 unidentified persons involved in anti-CAA protests on Tuesday near Jauhar park in Bilariaganj area. Of them 20 have been arrested," Superintendent of Police, Triveni Singh, said.

He said Tuesday's protest against the CAA was led by Ulema Council national general secretary Tahir Madni, who was arrested on Wednesday.

The officer said a reward of Rs 25,000 each has been announced on absconding Ulema Council leaders Nurul Huda, Mirza Shane Alam and Osama.

He alleged that the protesters used foul language against Hindus and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

An NGO in Azamgarh has alleged that nineteen people including minors were beaten up and arrested from Bilariaganj area when they were "peacefully" protesting against the amended citizenship law.

"The women were peacefully protesting at Mohd Ali Park. When the women got up from the spot to offer namaaz, the policemen started hurling abuses at them. They even threatened them. The policemen started creating tensions. They beat up the protestors and also pelted stones at them," Zakir from Al Falah Front, the NGO, said.

"Women have been beaten up severely, pulled by their hair. One Sharavari Bano was brutally beaten up in front of protestors. She is under treatment at Azamgarh hospital now," he said.

The NGO claimed that Maulana Tahir Madani was allegedly pressurized to stop the protests and threatened with dire consequences.

The 135 people have been booked under various sections of IPC including the charge 124 A (Sedition), 153 A (promoting enmity), violating prohibitary orders, 332 (Voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 186 (Obstructing public servant), the SP said.

The new law promises citizenship to members of 6 non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014.

Critics say that the new law is against the secular nature of the Indian Constitution and clubbed with the NRC may be misused to strip away some Muslims' citizenship in the country. The BJP, however, has argued that the law has nothing to do with India's Muslims and only helps those who fled religious persecution in the neighbouring countries. 

UP Police has been accused of using brutal force to quell anti-CAA protests in the state where at least 19 people were killed in violence last month. 

(With PTI inputs)

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