Young political undertrial may face custodial murder 'like Fr Stan Swamy', alleges family

By A Representative
Atikur Rahman (28), a young political activist from Muzaffarnagar, arrested by Mathura police on October 5 last year along with Masood Ahmad (28), Mohammad Aalam (37) and journalist Siddhique Kappan (41) while they were heading to Hathras to meet the gangrape victim’s family members, may face “custodial murder”, his family members have alleged.
Booked under charges of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Rahman “might die in the prison if no proper medical care is given”, they told media at the Press Club of India, New Delhi. “He has been admitted to the jail hospital for the past four days. The prison authorities are calling his ailment as seasonal fever neglecting his heart disease”, they added.
Claiming that he is not being provided any medical assistance, Atikur’s wife Sanjida Rahman said, “We have been saving Rs 2 lakh for the past two years for his heart surgery. Negligence could be fatal to his life.”
Ashwan Sadiq, national general secretary, Campus Front of India, said, the arrest was made as a purview of political vendetta. Atikur was in the forefront of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) movement. His stern interventions against the police atrocities in his locality also made him a target of the “authoritarian rulers”. As for the Hathras conspiracy case, added Sadiq, it was a “counterfeit story cooked up to silence dissent.”
Insisting that if judiciary does not take cognizance of Atikur’s health, he might meet the same fate as that of Ft Stan Swami, he demanded, “The judiciary must duly consider his petition seeking advanced medical care and grant him default bail for his treatment.”
Atikur's lawyer Madhuvan Dutthathurvedi told media, guarantee to life and liberty is one of the pious provisions of our Constitution. No one has the authority to deny the rights of a person even if he is convicted. Atikur is an undertail prisoner. “We have approached the court four times citing his medical condition, all of them were heard without due gravity and hence were turned down”, he alleged.

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