Withdraw criminal cases against poor during lockdown: Gujarat minority rights leader

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani

By A Representative
Gujarat’s minority rights leader Mujahid Nafees has asked chief minister Vijay Rupani to withdraw cases against those who allegedly violated lockdown regime, saying, majority of them are poor people, who did not have enough stock of essential items, or were not left with any opportunity to earn a living.
While it was the responsibility of the police to stop people from coming out and violate lockdown, Nafees, in a letter to Rupani, with copy to the leader of the opposition and the state home minister, said, “This also created many difficulties for the people. People were forced to come out to find a living. Those who belong to other districts or states were even more vulnerable.”

Mujahid Nafees

Pointing out that as a result of this, there have been reports of clashes between police and people in many parts of the state, Nafees said, criminal cases, including under the Disaster Management Act, were registered who wanted seeking to their home but were stopped, as also those who went out buying things or living sell vegetables or fruits. “In many cases, serious cases under section 307 (attempt to murder) have also been registered against some people”, he claimed.

Significantly, a large number of cases are learnt to have been registered against members of minority community, who live live in the congested old city area of Ahmedabad, where the cononavirus spread is particularly furious. Targeting minorities, Rupani has has been accusing the tabhligis for causing the spread of the disease.  Nafees heads Minority Coordination Committee.