Anti citizenship law protest being crushed: Noted Urdu poet

Aligarh, Feb 10: Noted Urdu poet Munnawar Rana's daughter Sumaiyaa has alleged police high-handedness in "crushing the anti-citizenship law protest" at Eidgah here.

Addressing women protesters who have been agitating against the new citizenship law since the past 22 days, she said on Saturday, "We are holding all-women protest which is totally peaceful and is our democratic right.

"But as we have seen in Lucknow, the Uttar Pradesh Police is using coercive measures to crush our protest. Even women washrooms were blocked in Lucknow where protestors were sitting, to break the protest," Sumaiyaa, who was accompanied by student leaders from the Aligarh Muslim University, said.

Many women have been protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at the Eidgah complex here with the police booking 250 of them recently for unlawful assembly.

According to reports, many Eidgah protesters have also been served notices, warning them that their properties would be attached if they continued with their agitation.

SSP Akash Kulhari said "anti-social" elements may try to take advantage of the ongoing protest at the Eidgah.

Meanwhile, the police have put up barricades surrounding the Eidgah, restricting men from entering the enclosure, where women are sitting on protest.