Gulfisha Fatima

Student Activist.

Delhi

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India on May 27, 2020 regarding the illegal detention/ arrest, fabricated charges and harassment of Ms. Gulfisha Fatima, a student activist.

On the evening of April 8, 2020, officers from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special cell visited Ms. Gulfisha’s house in the Tughlakabad area in five vehicles, and detained her and three other co-accused without producing any warrant. She was taken to the Special Cell Police Station, and later arrested in connection with a case in Jaffrabad police station (FIR no. 48/2020) registered on March 23, 2020 under Sections 186, 188, 353, 283, 341,109,147 reads with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The Metropolitan Magistrate sent her to a two-day police remand when she had no legal representation.

On April 12, 2020, towards the end of the remand period, she was arrested again in connection with a complaint filed by Mr. Arvind Kumar, Sub Inspector, North Cell, CBI, in which Mr. Kumar claimed that secret sources had told him the February 23-25 riots in Delhi were a planned conspiracy. Ms. Gulfisha was charged under Sections 147, 148, 149 read with 120(B), 302, 307, 124A, 153A, 186,53, 395, 427,435, 436, 452, 454, 109, 114 of the IPC, along with Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act. She was remanded to judicial custody on April 16, 2020, and lodged in Tihar Jail till May 16, 2020, when she was granted bail.