Support has poured in for activist couple — Ekta Singh and Ravi Shekhar — who were among the more than 60 persons arrested in Varanasi for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act last week. As both of them are in jail, with the bail hearing at a sessions court expected to be taken up only after January 1, their friends and well-wishers have expressed concern for their 14-month-old breastfed toddler.
The 60 persons, including several social activists and students of the BHU and the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, were arrested on December 19 while taking out a march in protest against the CAA and the NRC towards the Beniabagh Maidan.
The police charged them for rioting, unlawful assembly, disobedience and assault among other charges. However, associates of those booked say the protests were peaceful and accused the police of excessive action.
As per the FIR lodged at the Chetganj police station, the protesters violated Section 144 and allegedly raised “anti-national slogans”. The police claimed they had tried to reason with the protesters and explain that their march violated law and caused inconvenience to public. “But they became more aggressive and broke out at the police force, shoving and punching, and started chasing those looking on,” the FIR lodged by SHO Pravin Kumar said.
While the FIR alleges that the protesters had created a sense of chaos and fear, forcing a traffic jam and people to shut their shops, there is no mention of any violence.
Sashikant Tiwari, brother of Ravi Shekhar, said the protest was “extremely peaceful” and questioned the arrests. Around 60-65 persons were peacefully protesting when the police stopped them and packed them into a State bus for detention, he said.
“They offered no resistance and went with the police in the bus,” said Mr. Tiwari.
He says the couple’s child is now being taken care of by relatives. “She is a breastfed child. You can imagine the trouble she must be facing,” said Mr. Tiwari.
Mr. Ravi Shekhar and Ms. Ekta Singh work on social and environmental causes and are part of an NGO Climate Agenda. Their colleague Saniya Anwar was also arrested, along with activists Anoop Shramnik and Sanjay Singh, and several students and scholars, Gandhians and Ambedkarites.
Mr. Ravi Shekhar’s mother Sheela Tiwari told a television channel that the toddler was missing her parents and not eating well. “My son didn’t commit any crime, theft or dacoity,” she said.
Vallabh Acharya Pandey, an activist from Varanasi, said after taking the protesters to the police lines on November 19, at around noon, the police gave them “confusing statements” on their possible release but later booked them under rioting and other Sections of the IPC and 7 CLA.
A lower court rejected their bail the following day. A sessions court listed January 1 for the next hearing. When the matter came up before it on December 24, the police were yet to submit a case diary, meaning the bail plea could not be taken up, said Mr. Pandey.
Voicing his opinion against the arrests, especially of fellow students, Rajat, an M.A. History of Art student, refused to accept his convocation degree at the BHU on December 24. “Some students who had their convocation are in jail, but it makes no difference to the university. So I refuse to accept this degree.”
Meanwhile, 51 teachers of the BHU and affiliated colleges started a signature campaign against the CAA and also condemned the “police brutality” against university students.
Stating that they were “deeply pained and aghast with the CAA,” the teachers said, “This is clearly an attempt to divide society on communal lines. This is unacceptable that a modern nation state which claims to be torch-bearer of progressive values in the community of nations and aims to be vishva guru, resorts to such retrogressive and ill-informed policy, devoid of historical and social understanding,” the letter said.
They also appealed to protesters not to indulge in violence and express their disagreement through peaceful and democratic means.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Congress general secretary, raised the issue on Twitter. “A one-year-old baby of a family is alone. This is the punishment for peaceful protest. The government’s behaviour has crossed all limits,” Ms. Vadra said.
