Student leader and activist Atikur Rahman, who was arrested along with journalist Siddique Kappan last year in the Hathras case, is in hospital for the last four days.
At a press conference on August 27 held at the Press Club of India, New Delhi, Rahman’s wife Sanjida Rahman said her husband suffers from a serious heart condition and he needs immediate surgical intervention.
She said the prison authorities are calling his ailment ‘seasonal fever’ neglecting his heart disease. This negligence could be fatal to his life, Sanjida said.
“The arrest was made just before one month in which his heart surgery was scheduled. Then onwards he wasn’t provided any medical assistance. We have been saving Rs 2 lakh for the past two years for the surgery. This negligence could be fatal to his life”, Sanjida said.
During the press conference, Ashwan Sadiq P, National general secretary Campus Front of India said that the arrest was made as a purview of political vendetta.
“He was in the forefront of the anti-CAA movement. His stern interventions against the police atrocities in his locality also had made him a target of the authoritarian rulers,” he said.
Ashwan said that the ‘Hathras Conspiracy’ case was a counterfeit story cooked up to silence dissent.
“Now shoving him towards the same fate as that of Ft. Stan Swami’s out of political vengeance cannot be watched inertly.”
Ashwan said that the judiciary must duly consider his petition seeking advanced medical care and grant him default bail for his treatment, he demanded.
Atikur’s lawyer Madhuvan Dutt Chathurvedi told the media. That guarantee to life and liberty is one of the pious provisions of our Constitution.
“No one has the authority to deny the rights of a person even if he is convicted. Atikur Rahman is an undertail prisoner. We have approached the court four times citing his medical condition, all of them were heard without due gravity and hence were turned down, Chathurvedi said.
Twenty-seven-year-old Rahman, a PhD scholar who has been associated with Campus Front of India, a student organisation, was arrested last year by Uttar Pradesh Police while on way to Hathras along with Journalist Siddique Kappan, Masood Ahmed and cab driver Alam. They all have maintained their innocence and clarified that they were on their way as journalists to report on the matter or as activists to express their solidarity with the bereaved family.
The UP government invoked a stringent anti-terror law UAPA against them. Atik’s interim bail plea was also rejected in June 2021.
Human rights group NCHRO has also warned about his deteriorating health. “We witnessed the passing away of Father Stan Swamy in custody. Now, Atikur Rahman, a student leader suffering from a serious heart condition and facing negligence even in the midst of a life-threatening disease, reveals the failure of our democratic society as well as the rule of law,” said the NCHRO in a statement, demanding his immediate release.
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Ghazala Ahmad is the Delhi Correspondent for The Cognate.
