NEW DELHI: Even as support from their family and praises for their courage from across the country have been pouring in, the three girls who were seen rescuing a boy from police in a video that went viral on Sunday at Jamia Millia Islamia said that they were only trying to save their friend.
One of the three girls, 22-year-old Ladeeba Farzana said that they realised the intensity of the brutality only after they watched the video in which they were seen rescuing their friend, Shaheen Abdullah, who was dragged by the police and beaten up.
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“We were not scared. We were only focused on saving our friend from the policemen. I could not think of anything else that time. I only wanted to save our friend who is like a brother to us,” Farzana, a student of BA Arabic, told this newspaper.“When we saw the video, we realised the seriousness of the situation,” she added.
Farzana, who has Asthma was taken to the house by Shaheen and other two girls —Tasneem and Ayesha Renna — all from Kerala, after she felt breathlessness due to the tear gas smoke.
“As soon as they helped me get inside that house, I saw police dragging Shaheen. We all ran after him. We have been protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act and our families, especially my father and husband back home said they were proud of me. So we won’t give up or leave Delhi,” Farzana added.
Ayesha who is the same age as Farzana also spoke of having “no fear”. “We kept quiet for so long. Now, we must protest the CAA. It is an attack on the existence of Muslims by the government,” she said.