‘Uneducated, know little about CAA’: Men held for Jamia clashes claim innocence

The lawyer for one of the accused men, advocate Khalil A Ansari, said that the arrested men have criminal cases against them and that they were soft targets for the police.

The 10 men arrested in the aftermath of the protests around the Jamia Millia Islamia campus on Sunday said they are uneducated city residents who have little idea about the new Citizenship Amendment Act. The Delhi Police have said that they arrested the 10 men based on photographic and video evidence. The men, however, said they had little idea about the Citizenship Amendment Act—the new law that has triggered protests in several states across the country, including Delhi. The police said that unruly protesters, including these 10 men, hijacked the peaceful protests and are responsible for Sunday’s violence.

Police uses tear gas to disperse students protesting outside the Jamia Millia Islamia University against the Citizenship Amendment Bill, in New Delhi, India, Friday, Dec. 13, 2019. (AP)

The lawyer for one of the accused men, advocate Khalil A Ansari, said that the arrested men have criminal cases against them and that they were soft targets for the police. The police said the men are habitual offenders and have been arrested many times before.

Sharif Taj Mohammad,34, a vegetable vendor, said that he was smoking beedi with two other suspects near the Azeem dairy when the police arrested him. Another suspect, Mohammad Hanif, said that he was having dinner with his wife when he was picked up from his home at Gaffar Manzil around 8.30pm. He too claimed he was not part of any of such protest. However, Hanif’s father, Jameel Ahmed, said that he and his family, barring his son, have been to the protests twice to show solidarity to his students who were beaten by police. “ I may not know about the new Citizenship Amendment Act but I still went to the protest to show solidarity for the ones who were beaten,” Ahmed said.

Twenty-six-year-old Sameer Ahmed’s father Jameel Ahmed claimed that his son was not in town when the incident took place and the family had gone for a wedding. He told the court, during the proceedings, that he could also produce the toll tax ticket for his journey to Aligarh where they had gone to attend the marriage party on December 15.

Another suspect, Danish Jaffar, 21, a plumber, said the police arrested him thinking that he was a student. “I am uneducated and have no idea about the protest. I don’t know what people are protesting against. I had complained against a cop. He arrested me,” he told the court.