S R Darapuri addressing the Khauf se Azaadi programme
The forces of hate, after assassinating Gauri Lankesh, Kalburgi, Dhabolkar and Pansare, attacked Umar Khalid on August 13 in broad daylight in high security area of the national capital just in front of Constitution Club of India. Umar was there to attend a programme organised by the United Against Hate titled Khauf Se Azaadi (Freedom from Fear).
And right at the gates of the programme venue an agent of the forces of hate, an armed assailant, attacked Umar with a gun in his hand. He was somehow overpowered by other members of United Against Hate who were present there, at which point he ran from the spot. When he was chased by others, he turned back and fired and then threw the gun on the street before running away.
The United Against Hate team condemned this attack on the life of Umar Khalid by saying, It is shocking that two days before the Independence Day, in one of the most “High Security” zones of the national capital, an armed assailant could dare attack Umar in broad daylight and then also managed to escape. This also goes on to show the sheer impunity that the forces of hate have been granted by their saffron masters. But despite such attempts to literally silence and eliminate voices of dissent, we from United Against Hate want to declare in no uncertain terms that no such attacks will stop us from raising our voices against the rising tide of hate-violence, mob-lynchings and assassinations.
Despite the attack on Umar just before the programme, the United Against Hate went ahead with the programme and concluded it successfully.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer, Prashant Bhushan, while speaking on the occasion, said there are good people in every department and very recently the role security agency and the ATS that identified the hate forces during the investigation of Gauri Lankesh reminds that there are people who are ready to do their work sincerely and honestly and without any fear.
S.R. Darapuri, former IG police of Uttar Pradesh said that he had personally investigated many terror cases and that he could say that most of the Muslim youth arrested were innocent.
Prof Apoorvanand of Delhi University said that the incident that we have seen and heard outside the Constitution Club reminds that such kind of programmes should be organised. We have to come forward and continue to raise our voice against such hate forces at every platform.
The Secretary General of JIH, Dr. Mohammad Salim Engineer said these forces are trying to create fear in the minds of the people. The government should be reminded that tears and pain of the victims have uprooted many big establishments in the past and their suffering may not go in vain.
Fatima Nafis (mother of Najeeb Ahmed), Maryam (Wife of Alimuddin), Fatima (Mother of Junaid), Akbar (brother of Rakbar Khan) Dr Kafeel Khan, Adv Md Shadab Ansari, Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, Ex- MP Ali Anwar, and PM Salih also addressed the gathering against the growing communal violence, spate of lynchings and sabotaging of justice. The report of activities of UAH in the last one year since its inception was released along with a Fact Finding Report on mob lynchings in Jharkhand.
On August 16 students, civil society groups, social and human rights activists gathered under the banner of United Against Hate at Jantar Mantar to put pressure on the police to arrest the assailant as soon as possible. The United Against Hate team has provided the video of the claim made by the attackers along with their Facebook profile and their contact number to the police but so far the police have failed to arrest the attackers.