In the Prayagraj violence, a demolition order was served to activist Afreen Fatima’s family, asked to vacate their home.
Her father, Javed Mohammed was arrested for an alleged conspiracy to carry out violent protests against remarks on Prophet Muhammad. At the same time, civic authorities in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj on Friday issued a notice to the family of activist Afreen Fatima stating that their house would be demolished on Sunday as it was an “illegal construction”.
Prayagraj Development Authority has asked Fatima’s family to vacate the house by 11 am. The authority claimed that it had given a show-cause notice to Fatima’s father, political activist Javed Mohammed, on May 10, asking him to appear for a hearing before it on May 24. However, he did not comply.
While there are no conditions under Indian law to demolish the home of anyone accused of a crime, this pattern has been regularly observed across Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states.
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Saturday arrested Mohammed for an alleged conspiracy to carry out violent protests against the disparaging remarks made by two Bharatiya Janata Party spokespersons about Prophet Muhammad, according to The Hindu. Some protestors in Prayagraj’s Atala area had pelted stones at the police after Friday prayers.
Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Kumar alleged that Mohammed had also consulted his daughter, Fatima, about the protests.
Fatima said in a video that the police came to her house without a warrant and took her father into custody, Maktoob Media reported. She also said that the police detained her mother and sister and that she does not know their whereabouts. “My younger sister is just 19 years old and my mother is a diabetic patient,” she added.
A hashtag #StandWithAfreenFatima is trending on Twitter and a netizen tweeted, “She is the most vocal amongst us. The fear of being exposed has made the government go mad at the dissent voices. How much arrests can you make? How much houses will you raze down? We stand by each other unconditionally, No Matter What!” (sic)
She is the most vocal amongst us. The fear of being exposed has made the government go mad at the dissent voices. How much arrests can you make? How much houses will you raze down? We stand by each other unconditionally, No Matter What!@AfreenFatima136#StandWithAfreenFatima pic.twitter.com/rPWbvzem5G
— Mohammed Irshad (@Shaad_Bajpe) June 12, 2022
Indians stand in support of Fatima because this is a very dark season for Muslims who are hounded on every step, be it their houses, their food, their clothes, their beliefs, and framed in unfair manners. While there may be extremists in every religion, it is hardly fair to frame everyone on the same ground. The soul of a nation is revealed by the way they treat its minorities.