The UP government has begun attaching the properties of violent rioters who had damaged public property during the anti-CAA protests in December 2019. As per the orders of the Allahabad High Court on March 20, the Lucknow administration had halted the damages recovery process due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, the Lucknow administration attached the third shop in the process. As per reports, the shop belongs to an anti-CAA rioter named Nafees. As per a report by Indian Express, it is a welding workshop located in the Khurram Nagar area. Nafees was accused of damaging public property in the Parivartan Chowk area on December 19.
On Tuesday, the district administration had attached two other shops, namely NY Fashion Centre owned by one of the accused Dharamveer Singh, and a junk shop owned by Maahenoor Chaudhry. The property attachment has been done under the ‘Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public Properties Ordinance, 2020, based on order passed by District Magistrate Vishwa Bhushan Mishra.
Chaudhry and Singh are among the 13 accused who have been asked by the district administration to pay for damages worth Rs 21.76 lakhs for destroying public property in the Hansaganj police station area during the anti-CAA violence in the city last year.
Tehsildar (sadar) Shambhu Sharan Singh has stated that the two shops that were sealed on Tuesday will be auctioned on July 16 to recover the damages incurred by their owners. He added that if the accused pay up the amount, the auction process will be halted and the shops will be opened for them.
Yogi government had ordered attachment of properties of violent rioters
The Yogi Adityanath government had ordered the attachment of properties of violent rioters who had damaged public property during the anti-CAA riots in the city. In Lucknow, a total of 57 rioters are required to pay up for damages worth Rs 1.55 crore.
The Lucknow administration had put up large hoardings displaying the names and addresses of the rioters who are required to pay damages. A lot of outrage was registered by opposition parties, especially the ‘secular-liberal’ gang. When the court stated that there is no law that allows such public display of names and photographs of rioters, the Yogi government had on March 14 passed an ordinance named the ‘Uttar Pradesh Recovery of Damage to Public Properties Ordinance, 2020’, thereby providing the authorization to the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh to recover the damages incurred from the accused individuals.
A claim recovery tribunal was set up as per the ordinance to oversee damages recovery and appeals. Reports state that the decisions taken by the tribunal will be final and are not liable to be challenged in ay court.
Sadat Jafar, a Congress leader cum activist who is also a small time actress, is also one of the accused.
Recovery process was halted due to lockdown
The damages recovery process and attachment of properties was halted on March 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Lucknow administration had earlier given a deadline till the first week of April for the rioters to pay up the damages amount.
As per reports, in the Khadra area, some 13 protesters were identified and a loss of property was estimated at Rs 21,76,000. In Parivartan Chowk, 24 persons were identified and loss was estimated at Rs 69,65,000. In the Thakurganj area, 10 persons were identified and the loss was Rs 47,85,800, and in Kaiserbagh six protesters were identified and the loss there was Rs 1,75,000.
