It is not possible for her to observe 'roza' as she is not keeping well in jail, said activist Gulfisha Fatima's mother who met for iftaar with families of others arrested under a stringent anti-terror law during the 2020 protests against the CAA. Communal clashes broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, after violence between the supporters of the citizenship law and those opposed to it spiralled out of control, leaving at least 53 people dead and around 200 injured. Speaking at the gathering, student activist Gulfisha Fatima's mother claimed that her daughter has spent three years behind bars. She got bail around two months ago, but is “yet to be released.”
“It has been three years since my daughter was arrested and around two months since she got bail. I have no idea what is taking so long to release my daughter from jail. I've been running to courts over and over again. I can only hope she walks free as soon as possible. It is the government that insists us to educate our children. Is this the result of educating my child?” she asked. Some activists were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with a case of an alleged larger conspiracy in connection with the riots. Fatima's mother said that her daughter is “not in a good condition” and as a result, she could not observe roza this year.
“It is not possible for my daughter to fast for roza because her health is already in a bad condition in the jail. Hope she is released soon,” she said. Fatima had sought bail from the Delhi High Court in the case, asserting no role was ascribed to her for encouraging the violence. “My father never talked about the difficulties he faced in prison,” said Saima Khan, daughter of Mohammad Saleem Khan who was also charged under the same act. “My father's bail plea order has been reserved by the high court for now. Life for both of us has been tough ever since he got arrested. My father never shared about the difficulties he faced inside the jail,” Saima said.
Khan was named as an accused in 2021 and three FIRs were lodged against him by the Delhi Police in connection with the riots. In one of the cases, he has been charged under the UAPA and continues to be in jail, while he has secured bail in two other cases. “My son was studying BBA when he was arrested. Three cases were registered against my son, including one under UAPA. He got bail in the other two cases around one-and-a-half years ago but the UAPA case is still pending. His case is going on in the High Court now,” the mother of activist Athar Khan, Noor Jahan said.
