Varanasi tailor whom the UP Police arrested for hoisting Pakistani flag is innocent, say his family and villagers

ON October 30, Uttar Pradesh police arrested a 22 year-old tailor, Taj Mohammad, from Bhavanipur village, Rajatalab, Varanasi, on charges of hoisting a Pakistani flag atop his shop. The Leaflet learns from its sources that the U.P. Police might have misinterpreted Mohammad's action of hoisting an Islamic flag in the aftermath of Prophet Mohammad's birth day as claimed by his family members and locals, and made no attempt to gather evidence whether he shouted pro-Pakistan slogans as alleged. The Leaflet also learns that Mohammad might not have imagined that his action might be misinterpreted by the police in the manner as alleged in the FIR, as the villagers, to whom it spoke to, vouched for the absence of any intention to commit the alleged offences either by himself or by any of his family members.

According to The Hindustan Times, an unnamed senior police officer claimed that on October 29, the locals had raised concerns that Taj Mohammad had put the Pakistani flag. They also alleged that Mohammad had hurled abuses and raised a 'pro-Pakistan slogan' at the other villagers. The police officer further noted that after this incident, a police team arrived and had the flag removed, while Mohammad fled from the spot. The police reportedly arrested him the next day.

As per a copy of the First Information Report (FIR) accessed by The Leaflet, Varanasi Police have reportedly booked Taj Mohammad under Sections 124-A (sedition), 505[2] (making statements with intent to cause public fear), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR also notes that Mohammad had shouted slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad', while hoisting the flag. 

Mohammad's father Sekhu (who only goes by his first name) told The Leaflet that his son was "mentally not all right", and that the flag he meant to put up was the Islamic flag, mistaken for a Pakistani one.

Noting the likeness between the two, Sekhu said, "The Pakistani flag looks similar to the Islamic symbols of a star and crescent moon with a green background, but my son meant to hang this as religious symbolism which many Muslims hang. Because he is mentally challenged, I think he added the white strip on the side thinking it makes the flag more beautiful, he would never have known that this would make it a Pakistani flag!"

Varanasi-based activist Anoop Shramik reiterated the same. Shramik, who is the coordinator of the Purvanchal Bahujan Morcha and has been involved in the case, observed that "He had put up the Islamic flag, which looks identical to the Pakistan flag. He made a mistake of hanging it the wrong way. The police made a video of him while arresting him."

Across India, instances of Muslims being targeted for allegedly displaying the 'Pakistani flag' have been reported in the past, only to later be debunked after finding that the flags were Islamic symbols. Key leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including UP's Chief Minister Adityanath and India's Home Minister Amit Shah have also previously conflated the Pakistani flag with the Islamic symbols as well as with the Kerala-based Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) party's flag.

On November 1, a small team of civil society members led by political activist Manish Sharma who heads an organization called the 'Communist Front', went to the rural Varanasi area to meet with the family of the arrested man, as well as his neighbours. As per Sharma, "It was the aftermath of the Prophet's birthday and he (Mohammad) meant to put the Islamic flag during that time.  Even when we visited the village, the Hindu locals – members of the Patel community, Yadav community and others – all said that nothing was untoward in his actions and they have been living side by side in harmony."

Mohammad's father Sekhu also noted that the police took off the flag from the shop but "made a video" of his son with the flag before they took him into custody. The same was corroborated by Manish Sharma as well as neighbours from the Bhavanipur village. "If the police could make a video of the flag, then why did they not make a video of the supposed abuses or pro-Pakistan slogans, if that happened?", Sharma said.

The FIR also stated that 22 year old Mohammad's actions were causing tensions in the village. Saurabh Srivastava, one of the locals from the village said, "After I came home from my duty, I found that the police had visited our village and arrested Taj, the tailor and took him into custody. The charges in the FIR appear totally baseless. We have known their family since childhood, and they are innocent. Hindus and Muslims have always been living together here."

Growing crackdown on 'sedition' since Indo-Pak cricket match

After the India-Pakistan cricket match on October 24, UP Chief Minister Adityanath issued a statement warning of sedition charges if anyone was caught celebrating Pakistan's victory. Following the latest arrest in Varanasi, Manish Sharma told The Leaflet that "the police is taking this statement as a directive to take action".

Meanwhile on October 30, police in UP's Aligarh district arrested one Mohammad Farukh for allegedly posting objectionable comments on social media "celebrating" Pakistan's win in the India-Pakistan cricket match. Earlier last week, UP Police reportedly booked seven youths – all Muslims – in Agra, Bareilly and Lucknow for posting social-media messages in favour of Pakistan after the match. A teacher from Rajasthan, Nafisa Atari, was also suspended from her teaching-job and booked on charges of promoting enmity between groups for posting a WhatsApp status on the match's outcome. Atari made bail later, however she remains suspended from her school.