27 years old Safoora Zargar, a face for Anti-CAA protests, pursuing M. Phil from Jamia Millia Islamia University and accused for North Delhi Violence Conspiracy by Delhi Police is lodged in Tihar Jail. Schooled mostly in Faridabad, graduated from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University she has done her PG from Jamia Millia Islamia in Sociology. Her ancestral home is in Kishtwar, Jammu & Kashmir. She moved to Delhi in 1998 with her family when her father was posted in Faridabad.
Her Political Activism
Zargar is a member of the media wing of the Jamia Coordination Committee. In 2020, she joined anti-CAA protests in Delhi. On 10 February 2020 she fainted when she was “caught in a scuffle between the police and students” and was taken to hospital. She was initially arrested at her residence by Delhi Police on 10 April, with police claiming she was among those who organized an anti-CAA protest and road blockade under the Jaffrabad metro station in Delhi on 22–23 February.
On 11 April she was brought before the Metropolitan Magistrate and remanded in police custody for two days. On 13 April she was granted bail, but immediately rearrested by the police on other charges. Additional charges were brought against her on 20 or 21 April. Delhi police have said that the violence was a pre-meditated conspiracy and all arrests have been made based on scientific and forensic evidence. Safoora is also charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Her Tryist with Saffron Goverment
Since 15 April 2020, she has been held in Tihar Jail. This is an overcrowded prison, and to protect her and her unborn baby from COVID-19. She was held in solitary confinement for almost two weeks. Officials of Tihar jail said that she was kept isolated in a single cell, And denied that that constituted solitary confinement because she had been allowed to talk to her family on the telephone at least once. According to a report of The Hindu, “A high-powered committee headed by a Delhi High Court judge directed DG (Prisons) to ensure that adequate medical assistance is provided to Zargar“. The report also states that she was arrested in connection with North East Delhi riots.
On 18 April 2020, Zargar‘s lawyers applied for bail, but this was rejected by the court on 21 April. They made another bail application on 2 May, but withdrew it in court.
On 18 April 2020, Zargar‘s lawyers applied for bail, but this was rejected by the court on 21 April. They made another bail application on 2 May, but withdrew it in court.
On 26 May 2020, a Delhi court remanded Zargar in custody until 25 June.
On 30 May 2020, Zargar‘s lawyers again applied for bail, and this was rejected on 4 June by Delhi’s Patiala House Court. According to the prosecution, Zargar made an inflammatory speech on 23 February 2020 at Chand Bagh (part of Delhi). Judge Dharmendra Rana said:/p>
“The acts and inflammatory speeches of the co-conspirators are admissible under Section 10 of the Indian Evidence even against the applicant/accused.”
According to Zargar‘s lawyers (Ritesh Dhar Dubey and Trideep Pais), though Zargar had briefly visited Chand Bagh on 23 February before the violence started. Zargar delivered her speech that day in Khureji (another part of Delhi). They denied that the speech was inflammatory or provocative. The judge referred to eyewitness statements and a record of a WhatsApp chat, and said
“There is prima facie evidence to show that there was a conspiracy to at least block the roads (Chakka Jam).”
Noted constitutional scholars, including Gautam Bhatia, have critiqued the reasoning in that order for Ms. Zargar’s continued detention.” In June 2020, a preliminary report by the American Bar Association said that:
“International law, including treaties to which India is a state party. Only permits pre-trial detention under narrow circumstances, which do not appear to have been met in Zargar‘s case.” The report also said that In addition to her legal issues, Zargar has also been the victim of a slanderous online campaign, including falsified and explicit images of her being shared online and through WhatsApp messenger.
Her Marriage in Kishtwar
On 6 October 2018, Safoora Zargar married Saboor Ahmed Sirwal in Kishtwar. It was an arranged marriage. When she was interviewed in May 2018, she said that she planned to get married in September. The first time that Zargar and Sirwal met in February 2018 was after they were engaged in snow-clad Kishtwar. Their hometown in Jammu and Kashmir. They attended the two separate engagement ceremonies. But they did not see each other until that day at the Starbucks in New Delhi. Their parents, who were hoping to find them marriage partners with roots in Kishtwar, had introduced them while Zargar was studying at Jamia and Sirwal was working in Mumbai. They decided to get engaged after speaking with each other for six months over the phone. They married in September 2018 and settled down in Ghaffar Manzil, near the University campus.
Ranting of Right-wings against her
After the arrest of Safoora Zargar, several people on social media started sharing unrelated images and screen captures from videos falsely claimed to be Zargar. She was three months pregnant at the time of her arrest. The most viral allegation which targeted her pregnancy alleged that she was pregnant by Hindus at Shaheen Bagh. The people shared a couple sex video claiming that Safoora Zargar was in the video. But the fact checking website Alt News, revealed that all the allegations made were fake and baseless. The video was taken from Pornhub and the woman in the video was Pornhub model Selena Banks.
Other social media posts targeting Safoora Zargar for her marital status and pregnancy occurred, with large numbers of individuals claiming that she was unmarried and that her pregnancy was discovered when she was lodged in Tihar Jail. The Quint fact checked all the allegations, which were revealed to be fake one. It has been suggested that the online campaigns against her were misogyny and Islamophobic. Delhi Police hadn’t taken any action against the online vilification campaigns and trolls as of 20th May 2020.
(Mostly based on Wikipedia)
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