LUCKNOW: Indian authorities have demolished the house of Muslim social activist Afreen Fatima after she protested against derogatory remarks by BJP leaders against the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Indian police cracked down on protests on Sunday after Muslims took to the streets to protest against anti-Islamic comments made by two members of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in recent weeks.
Sporadic riots in northern Uttar Pradesh state led to the arrests of over 300 people. Videos went viral of police brutality in Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad.
Police raided the home of student leader Afreen Fatima, arresting her father Mohammad Javed, mother and sister. They have accused her father, who is diabetic and needs insulin daily , of “masterminding the protests”.
“First a police party came at around 8:30pm and took away my father and then they came at 11:30pm and detained my mother and sister. Third time they came at 2:30am to detain me but we resisted and since then the policemen have cordoned off our house,” Fatima told a foreign news outlet.
“We are only women and children at home. We feel cornered and traumatised. The police have asked us to leave the house locked.”
“I have no idea where my father, mother and sister are. I am worried about their safety. My father is a diabetic and he needs insulin injection every night.”
Demolishing of Muslim houses continue in India.
This is happening now.
— Ahmer Khan (@ahmermkhan) June 12, 2022
On Sunday, police arrived at the residence of Javed Mohammad, a leader of the Welfare Party of India and father of activist Afreen Fatima, and started demolishing their house.
After knocking down the front and back gates, the bulldozers removed personal goods from the house and dumped them on an empty property next to Fatima’s home.
The authorities arrested over 60 people, including the minors for stirring violence in Prayagraj after Friday prayers.
A day earlier Javed Mohammad and his family received a notice referring to the illegal construction of their home. Activists called the letter illegal and highly dubious.
Afreen Fatima, a student activist, filed a social media petition on June 11 to the National Commission on Women, expressing her concerns about her father’s safety.
Afreen who was an elected student leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union and an iconic face of anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) movement, is currently a national secretary of Fraternity Movement, the students’ wing of Welfare Party of India.
