Students of a madrassa in Muzaffarnagar who were picked up by the police in connection with the violence that took place during anti-citizenship law protests in the city on December 20, were released today. However, the students have returned with severe bruises and fractured bones. The students have alleged police brutality.
On December 20, the day the anti-CAA protests turned violent in Muzaffarnagar, almost 20 policemen entered the madrassa alleging that some of the rioters had taken shelter inside the building. The police had detained 35 students from the madrasa along with 72-year-old Maulana Asad Raza Hussaini who runs the hostel-cum madrasa.
One of the students detained by the police, Irfan Haider, 21, from Sitapur, was released yesterday around 11 a.m, reported The Print. Haider returned with a fractured right leg and a broken left arm. He now has to use a wheelchair.
Another student, Naved Alam denied rumours that some students suffered rectal bleeding. He told the paper, “This isn’t true. Neither the children nor maulana sahab suffered rectal bleeding. They were beaten brutally, which in itself was a horrible experience. We don’t need to make up any allegations.”
Reports of students suffering from rectal bleeding had floated after Muzaffarnagar Congress leader Salman Saeed said that some madrasa students “suffered rectal bleeding from the police torture”.
When asked about police brutality in custody, Yadav said that no student was beaten while in custody. He said, “The injuries took place only when the protesters started hiding behind the students and used students as cover at the madrasa.”
However, the students stuck to their statements. They said that the police used batons on them while in custody. “They refused to give us water and said that if we are so thirsty, we should drink their urine,” a student, who didn’t want to be named, said.
The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Muzaffarnagar, Abhishek Yadav told The Print, “A mob of protesters had entered the hostel on the day of the protest. When we went to catch hold of them, we ended up detaining some students as well.”
The SSP later told the paper that the students were released as soon as they were informed that the detainees were madrasa students. “We released 28 of them that very night along with the maulana (Hussaini). Four more (students) were released later,” the SSP said.
