'Can't Locate Him, Jail Officials Denying His Presence': Javed Mohammed's Family

Parveen Fatima says the family has been trying to locate Mohammed since early Monday morning, but to no avail.

Days after Javed Mohammed was arrested over his alleged involvement in the recent violence that erupted in Prayagraj, his daughter Afreen Fatima on Monday, 20 June, alleged that jail authorities and the district administration denied his presence in the Naini Central Jail, where he was lodged following his arrest.

(Chetan Bhakuni/The Quint)

Days after Javed Mohammed was arrested over his alleged involvement in the recent violence that erupted in Prayagraj, his daughter Afreen Fatima on Monday, 20 June, alleged that jail authorities and the district administration denied his presence in the Naini Central Jail, where he was lodged following his arrest.

"Jail authorities and district administration have denied presence of my father, Janab Javed Muhammad, in the Naini Central Jail where he was kept following his arrest. We are concerned about his safety and health!" she said in a tweet.

Afreen posted a message from her mother, Parveen Fatima, who said that the family and their lawyers have been trying to locate Mohammed since early Monday morning, but as of yet, the officials of Allahabad district and of Naini Central Jail have failed to assure them of his whereabouts.

"We have been hearing rumours from the media and others that several inmates of Naini Central Jail, including my husband, have been transferred to several jails across UP, and that my husband may have been transferred to Deoria jail, but no official confirmation has been given to us or our lawyers... The Allahabad administration has been bypassing all procedures to incriminate and harass our family. This highhandedness of district and jail officials is worrying to us."

Parveen Fatima

She also noted that her husband had been arrested on "cooked up allegations and false charges."

Javed Mohammed, a leader of the Welfare Party of India, is accused of being the key conspirator in the violent 10 June protests, where arson and stone-pelting were reported in addition to sloganeering against suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

The house where his family, including Afreen and Parveen, had lived was demolished by the Prayagraj authorities on 12 June.

'My Husband Is Innocent'

Another message from Mohammed's wife posted by Afreen on Thursday had said that the family would fight all the allegations made against him by the police: "My husband, Janab Javed Mohammed, is innocent and he shall be cleared of all the baseless charges and allegations levelled against him."

The note from Parveen had clarified that the family had not given consent to any crowdfunding campaign for rebuilding their house.