In a shocking incident in Bilaraiyaganj in Azamgarh district of Uttar Pradesh, police have allegedly lathi-charged a group of women protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The incident took place at about 4AM on Wednesday morning.

“My 80-year-old grandmother is missing. These was chaos after the lathi charge and she is yet to come home,” says Mohamed Ussaid. His grandma Tahira and 60-year-old mother Rukaiyah were at the Shaheen Bagh style protest led by women of Bilariyaganj.

“The women had been angry for days and decided to start their sit-in protest yesterday at 11 AM at the Maulana Mohammed Ali Johar park,” says Ussaid. “The District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police visited the site, made some assurances and requested the women to leave. But the women said that they would not leave till Shaheen Bagh was vacated,” he says. “But later that night over 100 policemen came to the spot and started lathi-charging women. That’s when the men lost their cool as we will not tolerate any violence against our women,” he says. Ussaid says, “We started pelting stones and in turn the police also started throwing back the stones at us. They also fired rubber bullets and tear gas shells.”

Another local student Mohammed Waqas said, “I was present there with my mother and sister. The protest was peaceful and there was no need for any violent crackdown. But when the police began lathi-charging the women, things got out of control. I sustained two blows myself and the police had grabbed me, but when the stone pelting began, I was able to free myself and escaped.” He adds, “There were women police personnel, but they stood on the sidelines and watched even as male officers beat up women.” Waqas says that his mother was injured in the ensuing stampede but not seriously.

But police categorically deny lathi-charging women. “There was no lathi-charge, so no question of firing tear gas shells or rubber bullets even arises. In fact, we had ensured that the women got permission to hold their protest. We issued them the written permission for 8 hours at the District Head Quarters. Then at the end of the day we requested them to vacate the premises as it was causing an obstruction on the road, but they refused to leave, ” says Narendra Pratap Singh, Additional SP (Rural) of Azamgarh. “There were hardly 50-60 women protesters, the rest were men. While the women remained in the park, the men came out on the street. We have detained some 10-12 of them and they will be produced in court,” adds Singh.

An officer at the Bilaraiyaganj police station also told us, “There was no lathi-charge. We just showed them the lathis to make them run away so that they would vacate the spot.”  

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Within days of UP’s newly-elected chief minister Yogi Adityanath declaring a crackdown on slaughterhouses, three butcher shops were gutted in Hathras town even as the police have swung into action across the state. Arson by cow vigilantes has not been ruled out in the burning down of the Hathras shops.

A front-page news published in the Urdu daily Inquilab has reported that police have shutdown slaughterhouses and illegal butcher shops across numerous cities in UP, including Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Gonda, Kannauj, Hardoi, Kanpur, Varanasi, Jaunpur and Azamgarh. Being targeted are not only slaughter houses and butcher shops selling buffalo meat but even those selling mutton and chicken, according to reports.

Meanwhile a news portal reports that illegal slaughter houses and meat shops were sealed by the police in Lucknow, the state capital.

Here below is an English translation of the Inquilab report:

No sooner has Yogi Adityanath taken charge of UP after a thumping BJP victory in the Assembly polls, that he has targeted the food habits of the state’s minorities. In his very first directive as chief minister, he has ordered a clampdown on illegal slaughter houses across the state. And the police have been swift in enforcing the directive. Reports from different cities indicate that the police crackdown on slaughter houses and butcher shops has created an atmosphere of fear and terror among those engaged in the business, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

In Ghazipur, one slaughter house and several shops have reportedly been sealed by the administration. The crackdown has continued for the second successive day in Gorakhpur with one slaughter house and many shops being shut down. Locals have complained that even shops selling mutton, chicken and fish are not being spared.

Slaughter of cows and its progeny have been banned in UP but those engaged in the buffalo meat business too are being targeted. The new CM reportedly wants to ban the slaughter of buffaloes as well.

The administration claims that its actions are only against illegal slaughter houses and butcher shops where the licenses have expired.

In Gonda, 12 shops have been shut down in the meat market. Similar action has been taken against one shop in Kannauj, four in Hardoi, three in Kanpur, three shops and one slaughter house in Maunath Bhanjan.

In Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the crackdown has continued for the third successive day. In Jaunpur, 12 shops have been sealed and orders have been issued for the shutdown of slaughter houses in the city’s vicinity. In Azamgarh, too, several shops have been ordered shut.

Following the shutdown of all slaughter houses in Gorakhpur, the Qureshi community demonstrated before the district collector’s office on Wednesday. They threatened to take to the streets unless a solution was found to restore their means of livelihood.

The strict action launched by the administration has generated uncertainty and fear among butchers who trade only in mutton. Meanwhile, taking advantage of the situation, poultry traders have increased the price of chicken.
 

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