Muslims give Rs 6 lakh to UP govt for damages during anti-CAA protests

A group of Muslims has handed over demand draft of ₹627,507 (₹ 6.27 lakh) to the authorities in Bulandshahr against the value of property damaged during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 20, an official said.

The group told the district authorities that the money was collected from the community which agreed to deposit it against the damaged property.

Bulandshahr district magistrate Ravindra Kumar said a group of Muslims met him and senior superintendent of police Santosh Kumar Singh after offering namaz on Friday and handed over a demand draft of Rs 627,507 against the assessed value of property damaged during protest on December 20 in the Uperkot area of Bulandshahr. He said that they also attached a letter with the demand draft in which they expressed grief over the incident and said that they were peaceful people and never indulged in violence.

They also condemned the act of some people who torched a police jeep, damaged a wireless set and few other things during the protest.

The district magistrate said, “It was good that the matter was disposed of peacefully instead of initiating government procedure for recovery.”

He explained that a committee was formed after the violence to assess the damage, which was calculated equal to the given amount. The residents preferred to deposit the money before receiving notices for the same.

The letter bears the signature and names of Raees Abbasi, Akram Ali councillor, Saleem Councillor, Jaheer Ahmad Khan, Nafe Ansar, Mohd Abid and others.

The Meerut district authorities issued notices to 12 people on the complaints of Nagar Nigam officials for recovery against damaged property and similar action was under way in other cities of western UP where violence erupted during protests last week.