School Children, 

Women Human Rights Defenders
Karnataka

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on February 12, 2020 regarding the arbitrary arrest, ill-treatment and intimidation of the staff, students and parents (including women) of Shaheen Primary and High School in Bidar, Karnataka for staging a play voicing concerns over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). 
On January 30, 2020, Bidar New Town police arrested Ms. Najmunissa, mother of a Class 6 student; Ms. Fareeda Begum; in-charge of the school’s the primary section; members of school’s management; and Mr. Mohammad Yousuf Rahim, the journalist who uploaded a video of the play staged on 26 January, 2020 by students of the school. Those arrested were charged under Sections 504, 505(2), 124(A), 153(A) and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on the basis of a complaint by a member of the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Moreover, over 50 children aged 9-12 years who were part of the play were questioned by the Karnataka police on four separate occasions. These children were interrogated in the absence of guardians/ parents for long hours and used as witnesses, whereas Ms. Najmunissa and Ms. Begum were accused of “using children to incite hatred towards the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi” and remanded to judicial custody by the Bidar District and Sessions Court.