LUCKNOW: As part of its crackdown against the anti-CAA protesters who had allegedly indulged in violence, arson and vandalism during the stir against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on December 19-20, the district administration has put up hoardings with the photos and addresses of 53 protesters at prominent crossings across the city.
Prominent among those who feature on the hoardings are Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abbas, retired IPS SR Darapuri and Congress leader Sadaf Jafar, all of whom were named as accused in the violence, arson and vandalism that rocked the state capital on December 19-20 resulting in the loss of one life.
While interacting with media persons, Lucknow district magistrate Abhishek Prakash claimed that the hoardings had the names and addresses of people identified by the district administration for indulging in violent activities during the protests. “Around 100 such hoardings will be put up at several places,” he said adding that recovery notices had also been served on them. “If they don’t pay for the damage, then their properties will be confiscated,” he maintained.
As per sources, the Lucknow district administration has assessed the damage to public property owing to vandalism and arson during the protests at Rs 1.55 crore. Ten people from Thakurganj and six from Qaiserbagh area have been served recovery notices of over Rs 69 lakh so far.
Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abbas and Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq’s son Sibtain Noori are among the 16 who have been served notices. Meanwhile, reacting to the step taken by the Lucknow district administration, retired IPS officer and activist SR Darapuri, whose picture figures among the 53 protesters on the hoardings, dubbed the exercise undemocratic here on Friday.
Claiming that he would file a defamation case against the administration, Darapuri said he had not received any notice so far. He added that he would challenge it in the High Court and also file a writ petition. “Our crime has not been proven yet in the court and not even the charge sheet has been filed in this case. We will go for appeal against this step,” he said.