After the anti-CAA agitation rocked Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government in the state has started sealing the properties of those involved in the violence and damage of public property during the protests.
“We will attach their properties of those who have been identified through the video footage,” chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Thursday.
The cost of the damage made to public and private properties during the unrest would be reimbursed with fines collected from those involved. Several protesters in Lucknow have been identified, and notices have been sent to them by the state administration.
The Lucknow district magistrate Abhishek Prakash has created a four-member panel responsible for assessing damage to public and private property during the protests. The panel will identify the protesters and impose hefty fines on them. If they fail to pay the amount, the state may confiscate their properties.
Additional district magistrate (ADM) (East), ADM West, ADM Trans-Gomti and ADM administration would be a part of the committee that will assess the damage caused to property and fix the responsibility.
The committee will identify those responsible for the violence through CCTV footages and video recordings. The process will be completed within 30 days. The order is based on a 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict that allows the government to recover the losses from those who caused the damage.
नागरिकता कानून के मुद्दे पर गुमराह करके लोगों को हिंसा के लिए प्रेरित करना देशद्रोही कृत्य है।
उपद्रवियों को चिन्हित कर लिया गया है। उपद्रवियों ने पब्लिक प्रॉपर्टी को जो भी नुकसान पहुँचाया है, हम उसकी वसूली उन उपद्रवियों की संपत्ति नीलाम करके करेंगें। pic.twitter.com/vSHlX7Id7E
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) December 19, 2019
A senior government official said that this exercise would be adopted in all districts that have been affected by violence during the recent protests.
The Lucknow district officials have started identifying protesters via CCTV footages and video recordings made by various news channels. Apart from auctioning property, the UP Government is also planning to book around 250 protesters, who instigated violence, under the National Security Act (NSA).
Meanwhile, recovery notices were pasted on houses of suspected protesters who were involved in violence. In Gorakhpur, pictures of about 50 rioters were pasted with a ‘wanted’ message.
Also Read: [Video] Will Take Revenge Against Those Involved In Violence: UP CM Yogi Adityanath