Jail stint worse than that during Emergency, says anti-CAA activist

Lucknow Septuagenarian activist Mohammad Shoaib who stepped out of the Lucknow jail on Sunday, a month after he was arrested for alleged involvement in instigating the mob during anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest, vowed to fight for those booked during the protest.

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Shoaib was granted bail by a Lucknow court last week in connection with the anti-CAA protest in the state capital that turned violent on December 19.

The activist said he was jailed during the 1975 Emergency too but not treated so shabbily. “Even during the Emergency, I was not kept with hardcore criminals. I was provided Class B facilities. But this time police kept me with criminals. We are against the Act but this does not make us criminals,” he said.

The activist who headed straight to the Clock Tower to support the protesting women, said, “It is good to see women leading from the front. We will support them to oppose this Draconian law and the intention of the central government to divide the people on the basis of religion.”

The activist said, “Across the state, police fired gun shots, killed people and arrested innocent ones, threatening to snatch property for damage during the protest. Is this a democratic state? What about the damage caused by police? There were some cases when police entered houses and resorted to vandalism.” He said an atmosphere of fear prevailed in the state and voices of dissent were being suppressed.