The Congress delegation highlighted alleged brutalities committed by the Uttar Pradesh police on anti- CAA protesters in 15 districts in the state last month.
A Congress delegation led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra which met top officials of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Monday in the national capital demanded a probe into alleged police atrocities in Uttar Pradesh against anti Citizenship Amendment Act protesters.
The delegation highlighted alleged brutalities committed by the Uttar Pradesh police on anti- CAA protesters in 15 districts in the state last month.
Salman Khurshid, Abhishek Singhvi, Jitin Prasada and UP Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu were part of the delegation. The Congress delegation demanded a thorough probe into the deaths that took place in the state during the violent protests against amended citizenship law.
After the meeting Rahul Gandhi tweeted saying, “A delegation of Congress leaders presented the NHRC with evidence of the atrocities against the citizens of UP by the State Govt., which has gone to war against its own people. The NHRC must act decisively to protect the idea of India & the Constitutional rights of our citizens.”
Almost two dozen people were killed during the protests, many of them in police firing. Clashes between the police and protesters took place in Meerut, Bijnor, Varanasi, Ferozabad, Sambhal and Kanpur.
Last month, UP’s Inspector general (IG) of police (law and order) Praveen Kumar said that 1,113 people were arrested in connection with different FIRs registered across the state while preventive action were initiated against 5,558 people.
Earlier this month, Uttar Pradesh government decided to review the arrest of over 1,200 people, languishing in jails, for their alleged involvement in violence that erupted during anti-CAA protests. Authorities had also admitted that some people were mistakenly arrested during the police crackdown.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath who has adopted a hardline stance against the protesters last week warned protesters against raising ‘Azadi’ slogans, saying that they were raised in Kashmir and amount to treason that attracts strict punishment.
Prasanta Patnaik