LUCKNOW: Lucknow district administration has started attaching the properties of those booked for vandalism during the anti-CAA protests in December last year.
The district authorities sealed a garment store and a junk store in Hasanganj area on Tuesday. As per the sources, the process of attachment of properties of the persons named in the FIRs then lodged. “Notices were served on 54 persons for recovery of damages to the public property as FIRs were lodged against them across four police stations,” said Tehsildar, Sadar, Shambhu Sharan Singh said on Wednesday. He added that the process of attachment of the properties of accused persons would continue.
The garment store, which was attached, is owned by Dharamveer Singh and junk shop by Maahenoor Choudhary. Both are accused of indulging in vandalism damaging properties during the anti-CAA protests.
The action of property attachment is being done under the Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damages to Public and Private property ordinance-2020 in compliance with the orders issued by additional district magistrate (Trans-Gomti) Vishwa Bhushan Mishra.
The protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) had witnessed a surge of violence in the city on December 19 and 20. During the protests, while half a dozen OB vans owned by various news channels were set afire, public property worth crores was destroyed in the arson and brick batting by the protestors.
After the protests, the district administration had assessed the losses and had sent recovery notices worth about Rs 1.55 crore to over 50 people seeking the payment of damages allegedly done by them during the protests.
In Khadra area of Lucknow, 13 trouble makers were identified and they were accused of damaging property worth Rs 21.76 lakh, while in Parivartan Chowk, 24 protestors were identified and the loss was estimated at Rs 69.65 lakh.
Ten people were identified in old city areas and the loss was estimated around Rs 47.85 lakh. In Kaiserbagh — the centre of the city — six persons were identified and the loss of property was estimated at Rs 1.75 lakh.
In an act of naming an shaming, the district administration had put up hoardings comprising photographs, names and addresses of protesters, including Congress leader Sadaf Jafar, retired IPS SR Darapuri and activist Mohammad Shoaib. The administration's action had drawn much attention including that from High Court in March.
However, corona menace and directives from Allahabad High Court made the Lucknow administration stop all coercive actions on March 20.