CAA Protest: Outraged Students Keep UP on Boil, Police on its Toes

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh saw widespread protests on Monday across the state on Monday, keeping the police on their toes through the day. By the end of the day, Section 144 was imposed in six districts, prohibiting assembly of more than four persons.

From Aligarh to Lucknow to Varanasi and even in Mau, outraged students came out on the streets, expressing solidarity and protesting against brutal police action against fellow students in Delhi’s Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

In Eastern UP’s Mau district, the situation turned violent at around 7 p.m, when more than 500 people, which included students and members of a small political party, came out in large numbers to protest but a section of them reportedly also indulged in violence and arson.

 “The protestors torched five two-wheelers and police had to do cane-charge and use teargas shells to disperse them. Senior administrative and police officials had to run away from the spot when the situation become violent,” said Vinay Kumar, a sub-inspector posted at the Dakshin Tola police station, which faced attack.

Gyan Prakash Tripathi, District Magistrate of Mau, confirmed the incident while speaking with Newsclick over the phone. “A few people, who had gathered at Hajipura to hold a protest over the Jamia Millia Islamia incident, have been disbursed. A few motorbikes were torched by them. The situation is peaceful now. Section 144 has been imposed in Hajipura Chowk area and internet has been suspended to avoid rumour mongering,” he said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Anurag Arya, while talking to media in Mau, said the situation was brought under control within an hour. “The protestors tried to set the police station on fire, damaging the assets of the police station. They brought down the wall and torched some two-wheelers. A mild cane charge was resorted to and teargas shells were used to disperse them. Meanwhile, we have clamped Section 144 of the CrPC and situation is purely under control,” the SSP claimed.

As per the latest information, all the madarasas (seminaries) in Mau have been shut till January 5. 

Lucknow/Varanasi Protests 

The students of the Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, an Islamic college in Lucknow, angered by police action in AMU and Jamia, came out in hundreds, raising slogans in support of students and against the police action on Sunday night in Jamia and Monday morning in AMU.

The students allegedly resorted to stone-pelting on the security forces deployed outside the college, but timely intervention by college teachers save the situation from going out of hand. According to the police, soon after the situation became normal, people from the adjacent lane of the Nadwa College pelted stones on security forces, leading to the police firing teargas shells and resorting to “mild” cane-charge to disperse the crowd.

Later, senior police officials met the college administration and it was decided to close the college till January 5 for winter vacations. Soon after this announcement, a large number of hostellers were seen leaving for their homes. 

Incidentally, on Friday last, the Lucknow police booked 600 members of the All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul-Muslimeen for sedition, while 200 others were booked for rioting and disobedience while they were protesting against the amended Citizenship Act.  

In Banaras Hindu University, too, students held a peaceful protest march in solidarity with Jamia and AMU students. The march was carried out from BHU’s main gate and slogans were raised against the police and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Condemning the violence against the students, Divya Mishra, a fine arts student, said, "We are students and we know what wrong has been done to our friends studying there. This (protest march) was important to show the government that -- Kaum Mari Nahi Zinda Hai (the fraternity is alive not dead.)."

The AMU Saga

Late on Monday night, the Aligarh police released 26 students who had been detained for their alleged role in the violence that occurred on Sunday night on the condition that they would not indulge in anything that led to violence in future. 

One of these students reportedly suffered three fractures in the police action but Newsclick could not independently verify the fact. 

According to a research scholar, many students of AMU were still missing and their parents were worried about their whereabouts. 

“Many students received serious injuries in the police attack while many are missing. We presume that they have been detained by the police but the police is not telling us anything. The university administration is spineless and silent, even when an attack has been made on the university. The administration is saying that only four persons were injured in the attack by the police, which is untrue. More than 50 students have been injured,” said the research scholar. Newsclick has withheld the identity of the student sensing administrative actions against him. 

A senior professor from the department of history said the police action on students was wrong and could not be justified. “They were protesting in a peaceful manner but I fail to understand that why the police entered the university and what was the need of charging them all, when things were peaceful,” the professor told Newsclick over the phone, adding that the incident should be investigated and strict action should be taken against people who indulged in violence, it be it students or police or even outsiders. 

Senior journalist R K Gautam, when asked about the current state of law and order in UP, said: “Instead of charging people with so much force, the police and administration should concentrate on calming down the anger of people by listening to them. Protesting is everyone's right in a democractic nation and violence in the protest should also be dealt with but the police should also investigate the role of outsiders in the violence. Students who have been protesting against this are the future of our nation. They do not deserve such inhuman treatment by the police.”

Rakesh Tripathi, spokesperson of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the state, who actively participated in student politics during his college days, said protesting was right but violence and provoking the police by pelting stone could not be justified, adding that police would have to take action to restore peace.

Meanwhile, UP Chief Minister Adityanath held a video conference with district chiefs of every district and has asked them to strictly maintain the law and order.