by Omar Rashid
New Delhi: Officials in Uttar Pradesh are cracking down on all forms of opposition to the amendments to the Waqf Act passed by parliament by issuing notices to political and religious leaders and asking them to furnish bonds ranging from Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakh.
Such notices have so far been issued or similar preventive action has been taken in Muzaffarnagar, Lucknow and Sitapur.
Preventive measure notices to 300 people
In Muzaffarnagar, a senior police officer said notices under preventive measures had been issued to 300 persons. Among them was Mujeeb Shibli, the caretaker of the Ayesha mosque in Muzaffarnagar. Shibli and three others were served notices for allegedly wearing black armbands during the Alvida Jummah and Eid-ul-Fitr namaz in protest of the amended Waqf law against which numerous Muslim organisations and opposition parties across the country have raised their voice.
Shibli was issued a notice by the city magistrate Muzaffarnagar asking him to appear before its court on April 16 and explain why a bond of Rs 2 lakh and two sureties each of the same amount not be provided by him in order to maintain public peace for a year. The notice served to him was on the basis of a police report which said that Shibli and others had worn black armbands after the recent prayers. The police accused them of “instigating and sending a wrong message to the public” and said that they could breach peace.
Satyanarayan Prajapat, Superintendent of Police (City), Muzaffarnagar, said to maintain public peace they had identified 300 “anti-social elements” who could disturb peace and served term notices under sections 126 and 130 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. These provisions empower an executive magistrate to serve notice to people and explain why they should not be ordered to execute a bond or bail bond for keeping peace for a period not exceeding one year, if information is received that the person is likely to commit a breach of the peace or disturb public tranquillity, directly or indirectly.
Mujeeb Shibli, who is also the city secretary of the Jamiat-Ulema-e-Hind, found it odd that Muslims were served notices with hefty bond amounts for a silent protest. “We did a silent protest with black ribbons last Friday. This was on the appeal of the Muslim Personal Law Board. There was no noise, no demonstration, sloganeering or any form of uproar,” Shibli told The Wire.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.