Those featuring on the hoardings put up in Lucknow by the Uttar Pradesh government welcomed the Allahabad High Court's direction to get them removed but fear the episode exposing their identities in the public domain could yet jeopardise their safety. The government was yet to remove the hoardings till Monday evening or respond to the court’s observations terming it an unwanted interference in the privacy of people.
‘Damage beyond repair’
“The damage is done, which is beyond repair and long-term,” said Sadaf Jafar, Congress member and cultural activist, who is among the 57 persons whose names, photographs and residential address have been laid out on the banners across the city. They are accused, and most of them are out on bail, in the violence that took place in the State capital last December during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
The banners ask them to pay for the damage to public and private property during the arson and vandalism within a stipulated time or have their properties seized by the district administration. The total damage listed in the hoardings amount to ₹1.55 crore.
“The HC order sends a very strong message across to the government that the State will be run by the rule of law and not by their authoritarianism,” said Ms. Jafar, a single mother of two.
“However, it does not bring permanent respite because the danger still lurks,” she said. “Now we are in the inboxes and galleries (of people's mobile phones),” she said.
Ms. Jafar feels that by putting up the banners, the State government “arraigned not just us but also our families”. “It puts their lives in danger. If people come looking for us, will they spare our family and property,” she asked
Theatre personality Deepak Kabir echoed similar concerns, arguing that the photos of the banners would stay forever in a digital world. He, however, felt the court ruling amounted to a “moral victory”. “This moral victory is very important for us at this stage because the way people and government build perception, the court has prevented that from happening on the basis of the Constitution,” he said.
Robin Verma, who teaches management at a local college, said the hoardings caused a big harm to his reputation and raised security concerns for his family. One such hoarding was put up right outside gate no. 1 of Lucknow University, he said.
“I stopped using public transport for security reasons [ever since the hoardings went up],” Mr. Verma said.
He also wondered how even removing the hoardings now could repair the damage done to his image.
Septuagenarian retired IPS officer S.R. Darapuri, who also features on the hoardings, said that by putting up them up in an “illegal way”, the BJP government had encroached upon his privacy, creating dangers for his life, property and freedom.
“It looks like the Yogi [Adityanath] sarkar is bent on getting us lynched by a mob,” he said.
Mr. Darapuri said he would approach court against the officers who put up the “illegal” hoardings.
‘Big threat to life’
He had earlier written to the Home Secretary, Director General of Police, Commissioner and District Magistrate informing them their act had created a big threat to his life and the government would be responsible for any untoward incident or loss faced by him.
