Syed Hurairah
Hyderabad: It is a case of abuse of power. The National Human Rights Commission, after taking note of a petition filed by a peaceful protester who alleged that the Karimnagar Police called him to the 1 Town Police station to speak to him a day after he held a demonstration against the Citizenship Amendment Act but harassed him and made communal remarks, directed Telangana DGP to file a report about the incident.
The protester and petitioner are M A Mujeeb, who is a human rights activist and engineer by qualification. He said that on 22nd December, he along with an associate were peacefully protesting against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens. He also said that no violent incident took place and that his protest was within the boundaries of the law.
However, a few hours later, a man who claimed to be a cop called him on his mobile phone and used foul language. Later, he was directed to appear at the 1 Town Police Station for counseling on 23rd December.
When Mujeeb reached the police station apart from another officer, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashok P was also involved in the ‘counseling’. According to the petitioner, the officer used vulgar and abusive language for Pakistan founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah and also questioned Mujeeb whether he agrees with the ACP’s view. Shockingly, he also claimed that Islam has more fanaticism than any other religion.
The ACP also explained the CAA from the perspective put forward by the Government of India led by the Bharatiya Janata Party and in English said that if Mujeeb is a true Indian, he would have to agree with his opinion. Mujeeb tried to explain his point of view and disagreed.
Later, the officer used questionable language to describe those protesting against the CAA, NPR, and NRC.
Mujeeb approached the NHRC with the help of a team of advocates – Bilal Anwar Khan and Anshu Kapur, from Delhi who submitted in the petition that the police are bound to protect civilians and not intimidate them. The team also cited an order of the Supreme Court in the Anita Thakur Vs State of Jammu and Kashmir in which it held that the authorities cannot indulge in excesses and must act within the purview of the law while dealing with peaceful protests or marches or assemblies.
The advocates also prayed that the NHRC issue directions to initiate an inquiry against the officers in question, file criminal cases against them and protect Mujeeb from arbitrary acts of the officers.
In the meanwhile, a case was booked against Mujeeb. He, however, said that he had not done anything unlawful and was peaceful throughout the duration of the protest.
The NHRC while giving Telangana DGP four weeks to file the report also said that the relevant authorities would have to appear in person in case the orders are not complied with.