Using police as a tool to settle scores with JNU students who spearhead the protest against the draconian laws like CAA and NRC, the UP government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, has pulled down the house of Jawed Muhammed Pump, the father of Afreen Fatima – a JNU student who led the protests against the anti Muslim policies of the ruling BJP government.
The district administration in Prayagraj city, earlier known as Alahabad, demolished Afreen Fatima’s house on Sunday using ‘Bulldozer’ blaming her father as a prime accused in a recent incident of stone pelting after Friday prayer in the city.
Heavy police personnel deployed in the area before pulling down the structure early in the morning on Sunday. Going completely against the nature of justice, the police raised the house to ground using three bulldozers.
A day earlier, the police took Jawed Muhammed Pump and his wife into custody besides their daughter Afreen Fatima. Later, his wife and daughter were released keeping Jawed Muhammed Pump back into custody.
Police officials, who stuck the notice just a day earlier over the house, gave no time to the family to shift their house goods and baggage was allegedly found throwing out the same from the roof. The police personnel gave full access to media personnel, some from Godi media, to grab the goods and baggage of the victim’s family. Some even found taking away the portrait of Afreen Fatima only to cook half baked stories.
What is surprising is that, the home ministry alerted several states about possible unpleasant incidents, no steps were taken to prevent the mishaps. However, the UP police got into action soon after the protest and started pulling down the houses of Muslims one after another framing them under the list of accused persons involved in stone pelting after Friday prayer.
The whole episode raises a question that whether the demolition of Afreen Fatima’s house is a reaction to recent incidents or a witch hunting of JNU students who actively participated in the protests against the draconian laws like CAA and NRC?
Reacting over the incident, the senior Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan tweeted “The UP government is demolishing @Afreen Fatima’s house, despite it being fully legal. There is no rule of law left in UP! It has become Gunda Pradesh.”
Dragging the point to his contention, he even appended a copy of a letter issued by the district administration that said the house is owned by Afreen Fatima and not the Jawed Muhammed Pump who was framed as accused in the case.
