Human Rights Defenders

Uttar Pradesh

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on 23 December regarding the deaths in police actions; brutal and excessive use of force by state forces; and fabricated cases against HRDs and cases of custodial torture, across the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) and blanket application of Section 144 across the entire state.

Uttar Pradesh witnessed widespread protests on December 16, 2019, several expressing solidarity and protesting against brutal police force against students in New Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). After this, HRDs have been put under house arrest, detained and arrested under severe provisions of the IPC. Internet shutdowns also took place, with access on mobile phones suspended in 21 districts of UP without any reasons or justification provided by the state government and broadband internet services terminated in some cities which seemed to have been restored on December 23, 2019. There have been 19 cases of deaths in police actions across the state, some by ‘firearm injuries’ as confirmed by a senior police official.

The state police had on December 18, 2019 issued notices to more than 3,000 people across the state, as a warning to not to participate in protests against the CAA on December 19, 2019. However, after this, over 5,300 people were put in preventive custody for alleged involvement in violent protests and later released. Of this 879 are arrested and 154 FIRs have been filed. 76 cases were also registered and108 people arrested for sharing and posting objectionable and misleading posts on social media about CAA. Some cases are discussed below.

On December 17, 2019, Meerut-based Dalit rights activist Mr. Sushil Gautam, along with 20 others, were detained at the Nauchandi police station in Meerut district for protesting

against CAA and brutal assault of police on Jamia and AMU students. Mr.  Gautam was arrested later for his Facebook post, before he could organise a peaceful march in Meerut under the banner of the dalit organisation Blue Panther as he was taken from his house by the police to the station.

After a notice under 149 of CrPC issued on December 18, 2019, several HRDs, such as senior lawyer Mr. Mohammad Shoaib, former IPS officer Mr. S.R. Darapuri and Magsaysay Award winner Mr. Sandeep Pandey, were put under preventive detention on December 19, 2019. Senior lawyer Mohammad Shoaib is also under judicial arrest, charged under Sections 147, 148, 149, 152, 307, 323,504, 506, 332, 353, 188, 534, 436, 120-B, 427 I.P.C, Section 3, 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and Section 7 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1932.

Ms. Sadaf Jafar, an educationist was arrested in Lucknow from Parivartan Chawk, where reportedly 200 people were also detained and arrested, while she was recording the police actions during the protests on December 19, 2019. She was brutally beaten in custody by the police leading to internal bleeding and has reportedly been charged under Sections 147, 148, 152, 307, 323, 506, 435, 436, 120-B of the IPC.

Mr. Robin Verma, associated with Rihai Manch, was brutally tortured in the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow on the evening of December 20, 2019, and later arrested. He was picked up along with The Hindu’s Lucknow correspondent Mr. Omar Rashid, who was taken to other police stations from the Hazratganj police station and was threatened, harassed and abused. Officers at the Hazratganj police station as well as elsewhere refused to acknowledge his journalist identity card when he showed them the same.

State police also detained women activists Arundhati Dhurru, Meera Sangamitra and Madhavi on December 20, 2019, when they went with Darapuri’s son, who wanted to handover his cancer medications, to the Hazratganj police station to inquire about the whereabouts of senior lawyer Mohammad Shoaib and former IPS Mr. SR Darapuri.