Uttar Pradesh Congress media spokesperson and former teacher Sadaf Jafar was arrested recently during an anti-CAA protest. According to The Quint, she went live on Facebook at a rally when some people started pelting stones at the local police.
After being picked up, she was allegedly beaten brutally by the Lucknow police.
She was on live video while being arrested, and can be heard asking the police why they were not acting against the pelters.
Why are you not stopping them? When there is violence, then you’re standing and watching the show. What’s the use of the helmet? Why aren’t you doing anything?
She also claimed the stone pelting was staged by protest infiltrators.
Why are you arresting me? Why didn’t you arrest the people who were pelting stones?
Since her arrest, her friends and family have been unaware about her exact whereabouts or condition. They have been appealing on social media for any possible information or help.
#WhereisSadaf
— Abdul Khadeer (@khadeer79) December 21, 2019
The UP Police arrested Sadaf Jafar on Dec 19th. She posted three Facebook lives from a protest site. Throughout her videos, she makes it clear that the protesters were women and young children. https://t.co/KuEJFlwt9v
My aunt is a congress worker who was at the protests in Lucknow on 19 Dec. She’s a single mother of two and has been wrongly incarcerated. Please share and help us find her! @sadafjafar#whereissadaf pic.twitter.com/XSqZCDS5j6
— Azain Jaffer (@moveslikejafar) December 21, 2019
The arson and violence was being carried out by hired rioters to sabotage the protest. She's no where near the protests, she's entreating the media present on site to show the faces of the rioters, and yet she's arrested, her family not informed. Her whereabouts have remained
— Aryan(@aryansri971@mstdn.social) (@aryansrivastav_) December 21, 2019
Jafar’s sister also told The Quint,
She has been beaten with a baton on her legs and hands. The police also kicked her on the belly, following which she had internal bleeding.
She has been booked on charges that include ‘sabotage’ and ‘attempt to murder’. A group of lawyers called the Rihai Manch have been helping her pursue the case.