Shia cleric's son booked for Lucknow's Clock Tower protests

Sibtain Sadiq, son of renowned Shia cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, has been booked on charges of violation of Section 144 and rioting by the Thakurganj police, along with nine named and over 100 unnamed protesters at Lucknow's Clock Tower.

Maulana Kalbe Sadiq had visited the Clock Tower on Friday to announce his support to the protests.

Among those named are Sibtain Sadiq, Adil Nasim Siddiqui, Sheikh Tahir, Mohammed Anas, Laik Hassan, Arshad Alam, Mohammed Yameen, Mohammed Akram, Qayum and Shafat.

The charges include rioting, unlawful assembly, disobedience to public order, obstruction to public way, assault or criminal force on public servant.

Station house officer, Thakurganj, Pramod Mishra lodged the FIR, the fifth since the imposition of prohibitory orders last week.

He said, "All those named had created obstruction near Clock Tower and misbehaved with police on being asked to move out. We gently reminded them that Section 144 was in place but they paid no heed."

Some protesters, however, alleged that police hurled abuses at them and slapped their children.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Chowk, D.P. Tiwari, vehemently denied the allegations saying, "Police is a disciplined unit. Several media persons were present at the spot. Police did not even touch a single woman or child."

So far, 367 persons have been booked by Lucknow police in five FIRs, including four in Thakurganj and one in Gomti Nagar, that have been registered since last week in connection with the protests.

Meanwhile, police sources said, eight people have been arrested and sent to jail in connection with anti-CAA protests.

Out of the eight arrested, one is a Delhi-based man who played a crucial role in Shaheen Bagh protest.

"We got report from our local intelligence that a person named Faizan Ilahi who lives in Jamia Nagar area of Delhi and played an important role in organising the Shaheen Bagh protest, was constantly in touch with the women protesters gathered at the Clock Tower to create unrest in the area. He has been arrested along with Samajwadi Party student wing leader Pooja Shukla and six other people in connection with the anti-CAA protest," Vikas Chandra Tripathi, Additional DCP of the Lucknow police said.

( With inputs from IANS )