Fact finding report of violence in anti-caa protests in meerut

1. Fact-finding report of violence in anti-CAA protests in Meerut
A fact-finding team comprising of Mr Yogendra Yadav, Kavita Krishnan and Riad Azam had
visited Meerut on 25/12/19 to find out information about the violence and the killings that took
place in Meerut on 20/12/19. For the process, the team visited hospitals and met the family
members of the deceased so that survivor testimony could be collected.
Testimony of Mr Alauddin (Director of Falaah-e-Aam Hospital)
According to Mr Alauddin, the police had closed the majority of the shops on the morning of
20/12/19 and did not allow people to even stand on the roads. On that day following the Juma
prayers at the city’s Jama Masjid, protests began erupting at around 3 PM after one of the
mosque attendees had a confrontation with the police. Prior to this, the mosque administration
tried their utmost best to pacify the mosque attendees and made sure they left in small numbers
from the mosque.
As the protesters swelled in numbers the police lathi-charged them, in return the police began
pelting stones, which eventually led to firing by the police. There are some allegations that kattas
(local pistols were fired). There have also been allegations that there were certain civilians with
the police who also fired. There is a Shambhu Das Gate Police Chowk on whose either sides live
a Hindu and a Muslim population respectively. It is alleged that people from the nearby Rajinder
Gate area came and burnt the police check post at around 3.30 PM on 20/12/19.
It is following this incident that police began cracking down harshly on the protesters and went
inside various Muslim neighbourhoods shooting. This eventually led to the death of 6 people
(five of them died on the spot and the 6th died on 24/12/19). Among those dead, 1 died at
Gulzar-e-Ibrahim Mohalla, 1 at Jaliwali Gali, 1 at Ghantewali Gali, 2 died in Ahmednagar (9 and
10 no Gali). Another person got shot near City Hospital and eventually died at a hospital in Delhi
on 24/12/19. The people who died at Gulzar-e-Ibrahim, Jaliwali Gali and Ghantewali Gali were
not part of the protests.
7 injured people had been brought at Falaah-e-Aam Hospital one after the other between 4-5.30
PM on that day. Since the hospital did not have the requisite infrastructure at that time, the
patients were given first aid and referred to the Mulayam Singh Medical College.
Testimony of Asif’s father (Idul Hasan)
Asif- 20 years old, E-rickshaw driver, resident of 10 no Gali (Ahmednagar).

2. Asif was one of the 6 deceased. He went out of home before Juma prayers on 20/12/19 for work.
When things turned bad, he kept his e-rickshaw at Hapur Garage and was coming home. His
family-members tried reaching him on phone, but they were unable to. At 10 PM in the night, the
person who drove him from Fallah-e-Aam Hospital in the ambulance informed the family that
Asif was in the postmortem section of the medical college.
He was shot near City Hospital, Hapur Road. He sustained bullet injuries in his chest.
The family members were not allowed to see the body at that time and were asked to come in the
morning. The police did not allow the burial in their locality. He was eventually burried at
Ansaw Qabristan in Jamia Chowk, where their relatives live. The family has not received a
postmortem report yet. Cases have been filed against Asif calling him the ‘mastermind’ of the
violence that broke out on 20/12/19.
Testimony of Mohd Salahuddin (Elder brother of Aleem)
Aleem- 24 years, Gali no 9, Ahmednagar, worked at Rotiwale Hotel
He went out of the home at 10 AM on 20/12/19. Police closed his hotel at 3 PM on that day. He
was coming from Hapur Adda buying some groceries. His brother received a call from a relative
at 4 PM saying that Aleem was shot. Aleem’s father-in-law Habeeb Mawaniya had also called
saying the same.
Aleem suffered a headshot near City Hospital. The family has a video of Aleem lying dead on
the spot after having sustained the injuries.
The family went to the medical college at 6.30 AM in the morning on the next day. They were
shown a different body at the morgue. It was only after the intervention of the local MLA that
they were shown the body. They were not allowed to the dead body at home. He was buried at
Ansar Qabristan, close to where Haroon (deceased elder brother lives.)
Postmortem report has not been received yet. They have requested the local MLA for help.
Concluding Remarks
The worst thing that has happened in Meerut is that poor, underprivileged people have been
killed and on top of that cases have been filed against those who died. These people were mostly
the breadwinners of their family. No FIR is being accepted by the police on behalf of the family
members of the deceased. The situation in the Muslim neighbourhoods remains tense and the
people are tensed. They anticipate more raids by the police, hence the male members stay awake

3. all-night guarding their homes. There is an urgent need to provide both legal help as well as
financial help to these families to help reorganise their lives.