The arrest of UP Congress spokesperson and former teacher, Sadaf Jafar, garnered much attention on social media after she was allegedly beaten and arrested by the police. As many as three dozen people were arrested the same day in Lucknow, and Jafar was the only woman to have been arrested, for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Sadaf Jafar ended up recording a video of herself being arrested while she was protesting against the CAA in Lucknow, on Thursday.
Sadaf Jafar was running a live video on Facebook, on December 19, Thursday, when some miscreants allegedly started pelting the police with stones in Parivartan Chowk. In the video, she was seen asking the local police why they weren’t taking any action against the miscreants.
“Why are you not stopping them? When there is violence, then you’re standing and watching the show. What’s the use of the helmet? Why aren’t you doing anything?” said Sadaf.
“Why are you arresting me? Why didn’t you arrest the people who were pelting stones?” Sadaf can be heard saying while the Lucknow police arrested her.
Her family and friends were not aware of her arrest and hence, took to social media. Her niece later confirmed that Sadaf was not only arrested by the police but was also brutally beaten. Her niece also said that Sadaf had been booked on account of 14 charges against her. The charges include sabotage, attempt to murder, and possession of explosives.
Sadaf and 34 other protesters were booked under Indian Penal Code sections 147 (charges of rioting), 148 (charges of rioting with a deadly weapon), 152 (assaulting a public servant), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (violently causing harm), 506 (criminal intimidation), 435 (mischief by fire or explosive substance), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with the intention to destroy a house) and 120B (being party to a criminal conspiracy), among others, as reported by Scroll.
“She has been shifted to Lucknow jail now. She was subjected to severe police brutality,” Sadaf’s niece told The Quint.
#WhereIsSadaf was trending on Twitter after the Lucknow police arrested her for protesting against the CAA.