Image Courtesy: https://www.thestatesman.com/
The relatives of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan were alleged charged with batons by the Uttar Pradesh police in Meerut while they were celebrating the success of his re-election from the Okhla constituency of Delhi under which the Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Bagh areas fall, Hindustan Times reported.
The incident took place at Khan’s village Agwanpur on Tuesday evening after the election results were announced. It was reported that the police stopped the celebration and baton-charged some of the relatives and asked them to disperse. Khan’s relatives claim that some of the policemen also assaulted young girls, pulled the hair of one and forced her to take them around the village to help them find Khan’s relatives who fearfully fled the scene.
The Station House Officer (SHO) of Parikshitgarh Kailash Chand said that Section 144 was imposed in the area and have registered a case against 13 people apart from other unnamed villagers for violating the same. In the FIR, Khan’s relative Noorullah has been prominently named.
The SHO claimed that the allegations against the policemen were false and “concocted stories”. He said, “The villagers were taking out a procession and we stopped them in wake of Section 144 in the district and no force was applied against villagers.”
However, Noorullah, along with other villagers claimed that a procession wasn’t taken out at all. They said relatives of AAP MLA Amantullah were distributing sweetmeats and villagers also called a ‘dholwala’ to celebrate the victory.
Nazmi, a 22-year student told HT that some cops went to the rooftop of the house and questioned the girls and women about the male members of the family. There, she said, “They misbehaved with Noorullah’s 17-year-old daughter Zaina and also tried to drag me downstairs.”
Nazmi was the one they pulled by the hair and forced to walk around the village to identify where the males could’ve hidden.
“They kept pushing and abusing me to keep pace with them and relented only when I lost all my energy to walk,” an anguished Nazmi added.
HT reported that a red mark was visible around her neck, one she sustained after being forcefully pulled by her stole.
The police was also accused of beating up shopkeeper Hakimuddin who sustained injuries in his right leg. He said, “I was returning home after closing my shop to see my sick wife when cops caught me and started beating me.”
Speaking to HT over phone, AAP MLA Amantullah Khan said such incidents in UP were a fallout of what he described as “politics of hate”. He asked: “What’s wrong if police found my relatives celebrating my victory in the village.”
This is not the first report of brutal violence by the UP Police. Ever since the CAA-NPR-NRC protests have begun, more than 18 people have lost their lives due to police brutalities in UP. They have used brute force on students, women and other protestors in the wake of such protests.
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