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Made to Say Cops Didn’t Torture Boys: Bijnor Parents, A Year Since

During the December 2019 clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police, 21 minors said they were tortured in Bijnor

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“We are sharing everything with you, everyone will tell you what happened with them, lekin police ke saamne koi kuch nahi bol pata (but in front of the police we won’t be able to say a thing.)”

These are the sentiments of 14-year-old Armaan’s family members, mirrored by two other minor boys and their families, who alleged brutal police torture after clashes erupted between anti-CAA protesters and the police in December 2019 in Nagina town of Bijnor district in Uttar Pradesh. They are amongst the 21 boys who were kept for one night in Bijnor civil lines and another two nights at the local Nagina police station, where they said they were beaten on their legs, arms, waists, and knuckles.

They also said they were abused, humiliated and told their ‘eyes will be gouged out’ if they slept in lock-up. The Quint had gone to the ground then, seen their injuries firsthand and covered their stories which can be read here.

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One year later, as part of our series, CAA: Lest We Forget, we returned to Shahzaheer Mohalla in Nagina to speak to them again. The boys and their families narrated how those speaking to the media were being allegedly threatened by the UP Police, and called in for meetings to sign statements that no torture had taken place.

“We had to sign the letters. The environment was such that we were petrified. We were scared of a repeat of what had happened to us and our children. Aap jaise log ladayi lad rahai hai, aap logo ka shukriya hai, hum jaise log toh apni zulm ki dastaan bhi nahi suna sakte hai kisiko. (People like you are fighting for us, we are thankful to you, people like us cannot even talk to people about the torture we went through),” Iqhlaq’s father Iqbal said.
During the December 2019 clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police, 21 minors said they were tortured in Bijnor

The fear on the ground is palpable even a year later. Many families refused to talk saying they wanted to protect children from further harm. To protect those who did talk to us, we have changed their names.

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'Do Not Speak to Media’

The time is 22-23 December 2019, and the boys had just been released from three days of detention. Policemen, with keen eyes, were posted at entry and exit points. The families said that while journalists swarmed, the policemen were noticing who was going where.

"Many reporters came to our house, we spoke to them as well. What had happened with us was horrible, we wanted to talk to the media and had no problem with them. They were sensitive and good to us. Many left their numbers with us too," Armaan's mother Aafreen said. As the stories were being written, the policemen started calling the fathers of the boys and told them to come to the police station.

"The policemen said we should be silent and stay home and should not talk to the media," Armaan’s father Ali, who joined us a little later, said, adding, "The police asked us why we made the reporters write all this and why we called them home. They asked since they were not pressing charges against our son, why were we saying these things. They have been let off and allowed to come home, then what is the issue?"

During the December 2019 clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police, 21 minors said they were tortured in Bijnor

Armaan's mother Sameena said that the constant calls by the police were making her anxious. "All I wanted to do was ensure my child and my husband are safe. We must have spoken to two or three reporters only. We started turning them back from our gateway.”

“We were all wondering why should we lie. When you came, did you not see the injuries all over the body?"

When asked if they called the reporters whose numbers they had, they said they were too worried to do anything to compromise the safety of their son.

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Iqhlaq's father Iqbal had the same concerns and decided to retreat from media.

"People also made some videos where the face of the child could not be seen but the house could be identified. So soon we started telling them that we did not want to talk to them. We turned back many reporters who came after refusing to give interviews," he said.

Shadab, who says he was among the tortured boys, said that those who spoke to the media received notices from the police. "Agar koi media wale aaye, aur unhone apni haqeeqat unhe bata di toh police wale poochne lage ki tumne bataya kyu? Unke ghar pe notice bhej diya fir unhone. Log bola chahte the, lekin apni sachai koi bata nahi pa rahaan tha. People wanted to talk, but no one was able to tell the truth then," he said.

During the December 2019 clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police, 21 minors said they were tortured in Bijnor
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‘Made to Sign on Papers’

After a few days, a meeting was arranged between police officials and the fathers of the minor boys. Some local leaders in the area were also present. There, the fathers, including Ali and Iqbal, were allegedly made to sign statements.

“I was told that signing the letters was important for the safety of my child. That if I signed on it, I would be safe, my son would be safe, we would not be called by or to the police station anymore. We assume this paper was some kind of faislanama, a deal or compromise,” Ali added.

Ali and Iqbal said the police had not given them copies of the document.

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A local leader, who was present in the meeting but did not want to be named as a notice was issued against his name as well, told us the contents of the letter. "The letter said that the police had not ill-treated the kids, that the police did not say anything to them. It also narrated how their kids were outside as they had gone for some work close to the mosque and then got caught in the crowd."

During the December 2019 clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police, 21 minors said they were tortured in Bijnor

"They were called to the police station again and again. They were also petrified. You think they would go to the station and read what was written anywhere?” he said.

“People just signed on documents like the police asked them to. That is when they stopped harassing everyone." Signing these documents meant that the men should not reach out to the media. "It was like a deal," Ali said.

Some others, like Shadab's family, never stepped out of their home and avoided the police entirely.

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Petrified of The Police

As winter returned, so have the pains. "Armaan told me his limbs are hurting again," Aafreen said.

Soon after the incident, Armaan had taken his cousins out for a spin on the scooter. Upon seeing policemen in the distance making eye contact with him, his mother says, he started trembling and rushed to turn the scooter around.

“In the process he and the cousins fell and injured themselves," she says.

Iqhlaq has not stepped out of his house for almost a year, his family tells us. "During lockdown, people would come and ask us where Iqhlaq was, if we had sent him elsewhere, we would tell them he was right here but did not want to step out."

During the December 2019 clashes between anti-CAA protesters and police, 21 minors said they were tortured in Bijnor

“The policemen said your beard looks like you are not from India, but from Pakistan. After we were released, I did not step out of the home for eleven days,” Shadab said.

“I was scared they would come and pick us up again."

"They held me from both sides and hit me hard again and again," he said adding that many people left the town overnight to save themselves from arrests. "Nagina was half empty then.".

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Response from Govt

We asked the Bijnor Superintendent of Police Dharam Vir Singh the following three questions:

1. Did UP policemen make the families of the boys sign on pages that said the police had not tortured them?

2. Did UP policemen constantly threaten the families of the boys to not speak to the media?

3. Has any step been taken to address the mental health of the 21 minor boys who claim they were detained and tortured for three days?

Singh refused to comment on the allegations stating, "Who is alleging what, a lot on inquiries have already happened on this. People keep saying a lot of things about the police, but I am not any spokesperson to respond to all this. When a need to inspect arises, we investigate. That has come and gone. Now you are writing this story and it would not be right for me to comment on it."

When told that the allegations were against Bijnor policemen, he said, "You cover what you want, you are an independent journalist in independent India but there is no point in me saying this did not happen. All the concerns have been handled, I do not want to comment on this."

The same questions were posed to DIG Moradabad Range Ramit Sharma and Nagina Circle Officer Rakesh Kumar Srivastav. Sharma redirected us to Bijnor SP, while the Nagina CO responded to our queries.

"All these allegations are completely false. These are all lies, nothing like this happened. The files have already been submitted in court. Bail applications and all are happening now."

When asked about the injuries these boys had to suffer that were seen by this reporter as well, Srivastav said, "I understand what you are saying but now whatever has to happen has happened. All files have been submitted in court. In the case of the kids also there is no case." At this point he added that he was transferred as Nagina CO only on 3 October.

When asked if there was an investigation, he said, “No investigation is being done on this matter.”

With letters written and signed on, and being told to not talk to the media, the severe allegations of torture on minor boys in UP's Bijnor have been buried for good one year later.

(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.)

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Topics:  CAA Lest We Forget 

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