Video shows police confiscating blankets of protesters in Lucknow

Twitter was abuzz with the hashtag ‘Kambal chor UP Police’ (blanket thief UP Police) on Sunday (January 19) morning as women protesters at old Lucknow’s iconic Clock Tower area accused the cops of confiscating their food supplies and blankets.

At least 500 women have been holding a sit-in demonstration against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act at Clock Tower since Friday. Subsequently, the area had witnessed a heavy police deployment and a march by the Rapid Action Force.

However, what made Twitter go abuzz were the videos posted by the protesters, which showed police personnel carrying away blankets and food supplies belonging to the protesters.

Congress activist Sadaf Jafar, who had also joined the protesters on Saturday night, posted a video on social media that showed the protesting women arguing with the police. In another post, she alleged the blankets were looted, electricity was cut, and toilets were closed.

“Yogi’s police are robbing things belonging to mothers and sisters. See how they are robbing at the Clock Tower,” she said in a Facebook post in Hindi.

घंटाघरपार्क में #अवैध_धरना_प्रदर्शन के दौरान
कुछसंगठनों द्वारा कम्बल वितरित कराया जारहा था जिससे आसपास केलोग जो धरनेमें सम्मिलित नहींथे वहभी कम्बललेने आरहे थे #पुलिस द्वारा कम्बल एवम् संगठन के व्यक्तियों को हटवाया गया व विधिक कार्यवाही कीगई |कृपया #अफवाह न फैलाएं @lkopolice pic.twitter.com/ovHoviiAA6

— Vikas Chandra Tripathi (@vctcop) January 19, 2020

Justifying this move, Lucknow Police said people who were not part of the demonstration gathered at the protest site to collect blankets meant for the protesters. It said the police removed the blankets as per the legal process.

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