UP govt sends first notices to 28 people to pay Rs 14 lakh for damage during violence

Lucknow, Dec 25: Days after the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest violence claimed 16 lives, and damaged several public properties across Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday, an identical notice was sent to 28 people for the recovery of damage to public property.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had earlier warned that "revenge will be taken", and the Rampur district administration took the first initiation to begin the process for recovery of damage to public property including police motorcycles, barriers, dandas.

On Tuesday, an identical notice was sent to 28 people in this case. This included a hawker of spices who is already in judicial custody and another one is an embroidery worker.

According to the notice, the administration has sought an explanation on why recoveries should not be made for damage worth Rs 14.86 lakh holding them responsible for the damage.

Mother of the embroidery worker, Munni Begum has told to The India Express that she can not even afford to hire a lawyer for her son who is in the judicial custody then how can she pay any compensation.

She also stated that on the day of the violence her son was at home, but a day after the violence the police came to their house in Nai Basti, UP and took her son Zameer, the embroidery worker. The police did not give any explanation they just arrested Zameer and sent him to judicial custody.

Another man, the hawker of spices Mehmood, who is also Zameer's neighbour was also arrested by police along with Zameer in charges of CAA protest violence. Mehmood's brother-in-law Faheem, said that Mehmood lives in a rented house and earns a meagre amount. It will difficult for him to pay such a huge compensation.

Rampur District Magistrate Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said that they have issued notices to 28 persons who were involved in the arson in UP as per police investigation.

She also said that police have shreds of evidence against these 28 people. All of them have been asked to submit their responses within a week or the government will start the process of recovery against them.

According to the district administration, the notices were issued following a state government order based on a direction from the Allahabad High Court.

Earlier, UP CM Yogi Adityanath has said that state government will take revenge by seizing and auctioning properties of those indulging in violence over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

Last week incidents of violence were reported in several parts of UP. A huge mob torched public properties, burnt buses, motorbike, cars, damaged railway properties and pelted stones at the police retaliating to control the protest the police had to fire water cannons, tear as and baton charge. Nearly, sixteen people have died so far in the protest violence in the state.