NCHRO demands immediate release of 8-year-old Rizwan Ali, detained by the Police after anti-Muslim violence in Siwan, Bihar

Patna (Press Release/Insaaf Times)The Human Rights Organization NCHRO has demanded action against the police personnel for detaining the boy, and has expressed its concern over similar growing incidents across the countryIn Barhariya, a city in Bihar’s Siwan district, anti-Muslim violence erupted on September 8, 2022, after a mob of Hindutva group descended upon a mosque in the area. The mob was armed with sticks and other weapons, and was part of the Mahavir Akhara rally. The mob has also been caught on camera, and can be seen armed with sticks and heard chanting Islamophobic, communal, and threatening slogans.The rally led to a violent incident in the area, with stone pelting and general ruckus subsuming the place. However, after the incident, the police arrested around a dozen Muslim men from the local mosque for inciting violence instead of taking action against the mob recorded on video. The people detained by the police include an 8-year-old boy named Rizwan Ali.Some media outlets reached out to Rizwan’s family and have reported that his ailing grandfather, who is 70 years old, has also been taken by the police. The family has also alleged that the police is demanding money from the family to release their 8-year-old boy.A total of 35 people have been booked by the police under several sections of the Indian Penal Code. Out of these, 25 are Muslims and 10 Hindus.This is a case of blatant disregard for law and of emboldening the violent communal elements of the society. The police, instead of taking action against the perpetrators, have arrested the victims. The detention of the 8-year-old boy is a flagrant violation of human rights.Human rights organisation the National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO) demands the immediate release of Rizwan Ali. Action must also be taken against the police personnel who detained the boy.This is not the first case of its kind. In fact, such cases are becoming increasingly common across the country, especially in the North Indian states, where the right-wing Hindu nationalist organisations have a greater presence owing to the presence of the BJP in the areas. Similar clashes also broke out in the last few months in many other places, where an armed Hindutva mob passed by a mosque and deliberately incited violence with their communal slogans.We urge every justice-loving organisation to come forward in demanding the immediate release of the boy, action against the actual perpetrators who initiated the violence, and action against the police personnel who further victimised the victims instead of taking action against the culprits.Indian is becoming a country where there is virtually no place for the minorities, and where the communal thuggish elements are continuously given a free rein to do whatever they want without any consequences. This has fatal consequences for the society in general, with dissidents and activists being arrested and silenced, and for the minorities in particular, who are routinely attacked by the Hindu nationalist mobs with open calls for genocide.We call upon other organisations to mount a strong collective resistance to this fascistic government, and prevent the erosion of our society as a whole.

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