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Amid reports of mass detainment of anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters in Uttar Pradesh, the arrest of UP Congress media spokesperson and a former teacher Sadaf Jafar has attracted attention for the manner in which she was picked up and then allegedly beaten by the Police.
Meanwhile, UP court rejected Jafar’s bail plea on Monday, 23 December, stating that “the offences under which she has been booked are serious in nature and she is not entitled to bail.”
UP capital Lucknow witnessed huge rallies against CAA on Thursday, 19 December. Jafar who was also part of one such rally went live on Facebook when some miscreants pelted stones at the local police at city's Parivartan Chowk.
In fact, she was live on video even when the police arrested her.
In one of the videos, she can be seen asking the police why there were complicit and not acting against those being unruly and that the stone pelting incident is a staged one.
Following the arrest, her friends and family were not aware of her whereabouts which led to them taking to the social media.
Speaking to The Quint, Jafar’s niece Ramsha* said, “She has been shifted to Lucknow jail now. She was subjected to severe police brutality.”
Jafar's sister Shabana* stated, “She has been beaten with a baton on her legs and hands. The police also kicked her abdomen, following which she had internal bleeding.”
It was only later that Jafar was provided with basic medical care.
Ramsha* added that a group of lawyers called the Rihai Manch have been helping her pursue the case. “Thankfully, a lot of people are helping us. It’s like the whole city is at it,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a video statement released on Twitter, UP Police has claimed that Jafar was arrested on 19 December for creating nuisance and following which she underwent medical checkup.
The police also said that the allegations levelled on them are “baseless.”
On Monday, Uttar Pradesh Congress leaders also met Jafar in jail and alleged that she was given worse treatment than “third degree” by the police.
(Names have been changed as per requests)
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