Strange yet True: Dead Man issued notice in UP for causing violence in anti-CAA protest

January 04: Chief Minister Adityanath had warned of a ‘crackdown’ on the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protesters and the government ordered that those found responsible for damaging public property during the protests would have to pay for it. Acting upon the directives of the Chief Minister, Firozabad police embarrassed themselves as they included a 90-year-old man called Banne Khan who was dead for 6 years in the list of 200 people who hampered peace during protests.

‘My father died six years ago, has been booked under sections 107 (security for keeping the peace in other cases) and 116 (inquiry as to truth of information) of the Code of Criminal Procedure because the police believe he is likely to disturb public peace,’ said Mohammad Sarfaraz Khan, the son of Banne Khan. “I also have my father’s death certificate. I am going to tell the police to go to my father’s grave and ask him to apply for bail. What else do I do?” he asked.

Two other men in their nineties — 93-year-old Fasahat Meer Khan, who has been bedridden for months and 90-year-old Sufi Ansar Hussain, who is suffering from pneumonia and has just returned from a Delhi hospital after his treatment — have also received similar notices. Sufi Abur Hussain worked at Jama Masjid in Lucknow city for 58 years, whereas Fasahat Meer Khan used to be a social activist. Both men are members of their local peace committees that regularly coordinate with the police for maintaining peace in any area.

They were asked to appear before a government magistrate and apply for bail after submitting a bond of Rs 10 lakh. Ferozabad City Magistrate Kunwar Pankaj Singh said that there was an error and will be rectified. “There was a lot of pressure on us to maintain peace and these were interim measures taken based on the reports from various police stations,” he told reporters and added that no action will be taken against any elderly persons. The protests against the new citizenship law were held in several parts of Uttar Pradesh.