The Allahabad High Court on Thursday gave bail to Azahar Khan, accused of rioting, manhandling policemen and damaging public property during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Uttar Pradesh in 2020.
Seeking bail, Mr. Khan said he was a former zilla panchayat chairman, politically active and had to participate in many demonstrations which led to many cases being lodged against him in past.
Reportedly, Muslim clerics in Rampur had called for public demonstration against the CAA and the NRC at city’s Eidgah on December 21, 2019. Later amid prevailing tension, the clerics assured the city police that the demonstration had been called off. But a crowd of hundreds of people with arms and petrol bombs raised slogans against the police and attacked them. The police appealed to the agitators to disperse but they reportedly continued their attack and caused damage to public property.
