Strangers in plain clothes are making locals of Atala more jittery than presence of uniformed men deployed on all major streets since the day of violence in Prayagraj on 10 June.
(Photo: Altered by The Quint/Chetan Bhakuni)
Mohd Arshan Ansari is a third-year BSc student at Thakur Har Narayan Singh Degree college in Prayagraj, who was taking his Botany exam between 3 pm and 6 pm on Friday, 10 June. Later in the evening, he was picked up by police officers in plain clothes for his alleged role in the violence during the day. He was then wrongfully detained for a day before the police realised their mistake.
Strangers in plain clothes are making locals of Atala more jittery than presence of uniformed men deployed on all major streets since the day of violence in Prayagraj on 10 June.
Soon after the violence, locals claim, police in plain clothes had picked up their children allegedly by force after misbehaving with the family who resisted the arrests. Some have been exonerated in the initial investigation and were let off after being wrongfully detained by local police.
Speaking to The Quint, Altaf Ahmed Ansari, Arshan's maternal uncle who runs a general merchant shop in the area, said:
Arshan's uncle Altaf Ahmed Ansari at his grocery shop in Atala.
Altaf approached the local police and produced Arshan's exam admit card as an alibi for his nephew's innocence. After a day in police detention, Arshan was let off and handed in Altaf's custody. However, not all arrested were lucky to have such a solid alibi to offer.
Mohd Arshan's admit card for the Botany paper on 10 June.
Arif Ali (31), Gulam Gaus (31), and Inayat Ali (19) live next to each other. The trio, who used to take up painting jobs for a living, were sitting on a platform at the entrance of Arif's residence on Saturday when they were ambushed by men in plain clothes.
Gulam Gaus's elderly mother has been waiting for her son.
"A day after the incident, people in plain clothes were making rounds on the street. A couple of men in plain clothes entered the lane and picked up our children. Before leaving, they tried snapping off CCTV wires and took away the DVR," a family member, who witnessed the incident, said.
Snapped wires of CCTV and the missing DVR from Arif's residence
In a lane close by, Shahina hasn't stopped worrying since the day violence broke out. Her husband Salim alias Guddu, an electrical goods mechanic, left home in the evening and hasn't returned since.
Salim's wife Shahina with their two children – Hasan and Fatima
An elderly resident Riyazul Haque Chaudhary (60), whose nephew Faizal was arrested in connection to the violence, said the local police in the crackdown went on a rampage.
"They tried destroying the CCTVs and damaged cars and vehicles parked in the lanes," Chaudhary said while pointing at cars with broken windshields. “We request the government to arrest people who were seen participating in the violence but should immediately release who were wrongfully arrested and jailed,” Chaudhary added.
Locals claim police went on a rampage during crackdown in the aftermath of violence on 10 June.
Once a bustling market now resembles a strife-torn conflict zone with police and paramilitary personnel keeping an eye on every movement of locals in the area. The curfew-like situation has kept the local traders in panic mode.
It has been five days since the area did any business at shops. Local shopkeepers claim the widespread police cover in the area in the aftermath of violence has kept the buyers at bay. Police meanwhile are claiming to intensify their crackdown hinting that there will be barely any respite for the residents of Atala area.
Locals claim that following the violence on 10 June, police destroyed some cars in the area
As per the official data on the crackdown post violence on 10 June, a total of 357 people have been arrested across nine districts in the state. A maximum of 97 have been arrested in Prayagraj in the three FIR registered in connection with the violence.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)