NHRC seeks report on Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad's arrest
The notice came just hours after Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. The commission has sought the report within a week.
The National Human Rights Commission, India, on Wednesday issued a notice to the Haryana Director General of Police (DGP) seeking a detailed report on the arrest of Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad.
Prof Mahmudabad was arrested over a social media post about the official briefing of Operation Sindoor, involving Colonel Sofiya Qureshi. The notice came just hours after the Supreme Court granted Prof Mahmudabad interim bail. The commission has sought the report within a week.
In a statement, the commission said it had come across a May 20 media report that "contains a gist of the allegations on the basis of which he has been arrested."
"It discloses prima facie that the human rights and liberty of the said professor have been violated. Therefore, it has deemed it to be a fit case for taking suo moto cognisance of the reported incident," the statement added.
Mahmudabad, who heads the political science department at Ashoka University, was taken into custody by the Haryana Police on May 18 pursuant to two complaints, including one by the Haryana State Commission for Women.
Supreme Court orders SIT probe in professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Ashoka University professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad, who was arrested by Haryana Police over a Facebook post commenting on ‘Operation Sindoor’, India’s military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
The court also directed that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) be constituted within 24 hours to probe the case. The team would consist of three senior officers not residing in Haryana, including a woman IPS officer, and be led by a DGP-rank officer.
Ashoka University welcomed the Supreme Court’s intervention in the case. “We are relieved and heartened by Prof Ali Khan Mahmudabad being granted interim bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court. It has provided great comfort to his family and all of us at Ashoka University,” it said in a statement.
