Hayat Zafar Hashmi is a well-known name in Kanpur and is the national president of Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar Fans Association, a relief organization. Currently in jail for being an alleged ‘key conspirator’ of the June 3 violence in Kanpur, locals remember him as a passionate social worker who never shies away from helping the needy.
Vipul Kumar | TwoCircles.net
NEW DELHI — 32-year-old activist Hayat Zafar Hashmi was one of the several people arrested by Uttar Pradesh police in Kanpur following protests on June 3 over remarks against Prophet Muhammad made by now suspended Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nupur Sharma on national television. According to the police, at least 40 people including 20 police personnel were injured in the clashes following Friday prayers on June 3.
While Hashmi was arrested on the evening of June 3, a first information report (FIR) lodged on June 4 named Hayat Zafar Hashmi as the main accused and perpetrator. “On June 3, a call for a Bazaar Bandh (market shutdown) was given by anarchic elements. The procession was led by MMA Jauhar Fans Association chief Hayat Zafar Hashmi,” the FIR said.
At a press conference, the Kanpur police alleged that Hashmi is the “key conspirator” of the violence on June 3. Two days later, on June 5, the district police sent all the accused, including Hashmi, to 14-day judicial remand at the District jail.
Miraz Ahmad, a resident of Chamanganj, Kanpur, told TwoCircles.net, “He (Hayat) is a social worker who stands with anyone who is in crisis or has been wronged. Irrespective of religion he cares for everyone.”
Hayat’s family first came into the news in 2010 when his mother and sister attempted to set themselves ablaze in front of the district magistrate’s office in Kanpur after allegedly being denied police help. They claimed police did not help after some local mafias and builders were trying to take possession of their house. They succumbed to their injuries later.
In October 2021, Hashmi was booked along with three others by Kanpur police for taking out a religious procession in violation of Covid-19 guidelines.
Locals in Kanpur that this reporter spoke with remember Hashmi as an activist who stands for the rights of minorities, and who came into the limelight for his leading role in anti-CAA protests in the city in December 2019.
“He is the voice of minorities. He helps economically underprivileged girls in marriages. He helps those families who can not afford the last rites of their loved ones, irrespective of religion and caste. He gave a call for Bandh on June 3 but later he called it off,” a local from Kanpur said on the condition of anonymity.
His wife Zara Hayat claimed that she came to know about the arrest on June 4. “I was under house arrest for the next three days,” she told TwoCircles.net.
Zara said that her husband (Hayat) had filed an FIR on May 31 against Nupur Sharma for her derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad. “But no action was taken by the police,” she said.
“Hayat gave a call for a peaceful Bandh on June 3 and requested people to close their shops and stay in their homes to register their protest. But Hayat got a call from the police asking him to postpone the Bandh as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be in the city that day. Instead, police asked him to continue the Jail Bharo Andolan on June 5. Zafar called off the Bandh and posted about the same on his Facebook and WhatsApp groups on June 2 and 3,” she said.
In a video uploaded on June 2, by a local YouTube channel named, RTI News 24, Hayat Hashmi can be seen as saying, “On June 3 administration is busy as our Prime Minister and honourable President will be in Kanpur, so the administration has requested us to postpone the Bandh announced on June 3 and has promised cooperation for the programme (Jail Bharo Andolan) on June 5. Believing the administration, we announce that we will continue with the Jail Bharo Andolan (fill the prison movement) on June 5.”
Showing Hayat’s photos of feeding homeless people and carrying oxygen cylinders on his shoulders, his wife said, “His organisation helps the underprivileged in health, marriage, education and reaches out to people in a crisis as they did during the pandemic,” Zara said.
In a video interview uploaded on November 29, 2020, by a local Facebook channel named UNT News Paper, Hashmi talks about his work. The theme of the interview was to identify and honour the social workers of Kanpur. “I graduated with B.Sc Mathematics from Kanpur University in 2011. When I was in high school, inspired by social work and my beloved Prophet, I started an organization in 2007 in the name of freedom fighter Maulana Mohammad Ali Jauhar.”
Talking about his social work, Hashmi said, “When the lockdown started, we fed and distributed rations to 2000 needy people for 82 days. In the lockdown, on the occasion of Navratri (nine-day Hindu festival), Janmashtami and Ramadan, we distributed food and other materials.”
In several photos shown by Hashmi’s family, he can be seen celebrating Diwali and Holi, paying tribute to martyred Indian Army personnel, providing Oxygen cylinders in the second wave of the pandemic, and feeding the homeless.
Talking about the negative role played by the media, Zara said, “The way the media is accusing my husband of many serious offences is condemnable and a matter of shame. The media is totally sold out. It should be boycotted by the masses as it is no longer credible.”
Hashmi’s lawyer Mohammad Yaqoob Qureshi told TwoCircles.net that he has been booked under 13 different sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Allegations of one-sided action against Muslims
Kanpur’s Muslim community has alleged police of ‘one-sided’ action. Another FIR (No. 43) lodged on the same day by one Mukesh says, “When some people thought that Chandeshwar Hata will be eliminated today, 8-10 people started pelting stones coming from the other side in private defence. More people came from Hata after knowing about the attack, and, in private defence, threw leftover crackers of Diwali towards the mob to scare them away. Chandeshwari Hata is a Hindu locality near Pared Chowk, where clashes took place on June 3.
Incidentally, FIR (No.0042) lodged on the complaint of the police officer does not find any mention of ‘retaliation’ as stated by Mukesh in the FIR (No.43).
When TwoCircles.net spoke with the Kanpur Police, they said 50 people had been arrested.
“Most of the arrested are from Muslim community,” General Secretary of Jamiat-Ulama-e-Hind city Abdul Qudoos said.
A printing press owner named Shankar Lal Ramanai, owner of Roma Printers was also arrested for reportedly printing Jail Bharo Andolan posters on June 5.
The police released photos of 40 suspects involved in the clash and sought civilians to help to nab them. The poster, put up on the Choraha, by the police says, “Suspects of the incident that happened on June 3. Identity of the informant of the above people will be kept confidential.” A 10-digit phone number was also mentioned on the poster.
“Sources of the photos were collected from CCTV footage of Mosques, private houses and cameras installed under the Smart Cities Limited in the area. We are also investigating footage from media houses and provided by the common civilians,” Anand Prakash Tiwari, Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) told TwoCircles.net.
Vipul Kumar is a freelance journalist and a student at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi. He tweets at @vipulizm