Kaleem Ansari and Ms. Amina Khatoon

HRD 

Uttar Pradesh

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on October 31, 2021, regarding a horrific incident involving extreme police brutality in the form of repeated physical assault and torture and the illegal arrest on fabricated charges against HRD Mr. Kaleem Ansari and his minor daughter Ms. Amina Khatoon, by the UP Police. Kaleem Ansari is a differently-abled person and a civil rights activist. 

In 2019, during the anti-CAA protests, the HRDs house was ransacked by the police and there was extreme pressure on him not to take part in the peaceful citizen protests. Then in 2020, the police picked up 5 HRDs along with Mr. Ansari. They tortured and arrested them and imposed the draconian Gunda Act. In 2021, some social workers, including Mr. Kaleem Ansari, submitted a peaceful memorandum against three farms law to the Sub Divisional Magistrate. Mr. Ansari then went to the hospital for physiotherapy with his daughter. The police from the Robertsganj police station, along with a few other policemen in uniform, stopped them near the municipality office. They started slapping and assaulting Mr. Ansari. When his daughter tried to stop the police, the official in charge, Mr. Singh, slapped her and abused her verbally. He also grabbed her hair and pushed her down on the street and forcibly snatched her mobile. 

The police left them and Mr. Ansari and his daughter reached the physiotherapy clinic. Around 30-35 police personnel entered the clinic. They abused and slapped Mr. Ansari. There were 3-4 women personnel who assaulted and slapped his daughter. The policeman took the father-daughter duo forcibly to Robertsganj police station without any due procedure or paperwork. Ms. Khatoon was then taken to the magistrate and sent to Sonbhadra Central Jail without informing any family members or relatives. On June 5, 2021, Mr. Singh registered an FIR against Mr. Ansari. He was released from prison on June 9. 

We believe that the brutal assault and framing of the HRD under fabricated charges by the Sonbhadra police as well as Robertsganj police is a complete violation of his right to life and personal liberty (Article 21), right to exercise freedom of speech and expression Article 19(a) right to assemble peacefully under Article 19(b) guaranteed under Indian Constitution along with the Article 5 as well as article 7 of the Universal Declaration.