Protests in Capital against demolition of activist Afreen Fatima’s Prayagraj house

The students of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University belonging to All India Students' Association (AISA) and Students' Federation of India (SFI) on Monday protested at Jantar Mantar in the national Capital against the demolition of the house of activist and former JNU student Afreen Fatima in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj.

Close to 30 students were detained and taken to the Parliament Street police station. They have not been released yet.

The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) on Sunday demolished the house of Afrin’s father Javed Mohammad, claiming that he was the alleged mastermind of the June 10 violence in Prayagraj, amid heavy police deployment. But it has since come to light that the building was in the name of Fatima’s mother Parveen Fatima for decades.

The authorities claimed that the building map of their house had not been approved by them.

According to Afreen’s sister Sumaiya, the house that was demolished was gifted to her mother by her maternal grandfather. Sumaiya said that neither the land nor the house belonged to her father.

“We are against the ‘bulldozer injustice’ being followed by the Uttar Pradesh government. There is no rule of law in Uttar Pradesh. How can a home be bulldozed and the TV channels are celebrating it? They are calling it ‘bulldozer justice’. From which angle does it look like justice? This is nothing but dictatorship,” said Hitesh, second year DU student.

In another protest organised by Students Islamic Organization (SIO) and Fraternity Movement outside UP Bhavan on Monday, close to 20 students were detained.

Protests also took place at the Jamia Millia Islamia University despite a heavy police presence that was deployed after word of a protest being organised spread.

Protests had occurred in several parts of the country, including Prayagraj (Allahabad), demanding stringent action against the now sacked Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal after they made derogatory comments on Prophet Muhammad, after Friday prayers on June 10.

On Sunday, Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) protested on campus against the demolition of Fatima’s house in Prayagraj. JNUSU members raised slogans against what they termed "bulldozer raj" of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government and held placards reading: "Stop the witch-hunt of Muslims".