By Neetika Jha
A week after more than 300 people in UP’s Muzaffarnagar were issued notices by the district administration for protesting against the Waqf Act by wearing black armbands while offering prayers at a local mosque on March 28 and on Eid three days later, the officials on Friday said that no more people have been identified by the administration.
“The notice that was issued was legal,” said the Muzaffarnagar SSP Abhishek Singh, adding, “We have not given any new notices.”
Meanwhile, one of the persons who received the notice told The Indian Express that he was looking for a lawyer. “We have been asked to be present before the court on April 16. We have started looking for a lawyer,” he said, requesting anonymity.
He also said that even if the magistrate decides to quash the notice, the bigger problem is the bond. “If anything happens in the district within a period of one year, we may be picked up,” he said.
Last week, the notices were issued by City Magistrate Vikas Kashyap after receiving reports from the local police, officials said. One of these notices, issued on April 3 and reviewed by The Indian Express, orders five men to appear before the City Magistrate’s court on April 16, explain their actions, and submit a bond `2 lakh and two sureties of the same amount, with the assurance that they will maintain peace in the jurisdiction for a year.
“In the current scenario, in order to maintain law and order in Muzaffarnagar, elements who could harm the social order were identified. More than 300 people were identified and notices have been issued to them,” Muzaffarnagar City SP Satyanarayan Prajapat had earlier told The Indian Express.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.