Families in Bareilly are in shock and despair after the police crackdown on Friday’s protests against FIRs filed in the wake of the “I Love Muhammad” campaign. Several young Muslim men and minors were allegedly picked up by the police and publicly paraded with folded hands. Since then, their families claim they have no information about their whereabouts.
Every day, mothers and sisters gather outside local police stations, pleading to learn about their missing relatives. Their stories echo the fear and helplessness spreading across the city.
One of them, Gulafshan, whose 17-year-old son was taken by the police on Friday night, recalled the moment he disappeared.
Gulafshan told Maktoob, “My boy had gone out just to get milk for the house. He has not returned since. The neighbours told us that the police picked him up during their raid from the next crossroads. When we go to the police station, they say nothing. He is just a child.”
She said, “He was at home the entire day on Friday being precautionary of the unrest and police action. He wanted to have tea so I asked him to bring a packet of milk. He went out and never came back.”
Today is the fifth day as asthma patient Gulafshan visits the police station to look for her son.
“We come here every day in the morning and return around 12–2 at night in the hope to see our son,” she added.
Another woman, Afsana, said that police had picked up her uncle and two others from her family on Sunday afternoon while she was not at home. Her uncle runs a scrap shop and makes videos on Instagram for a living.
Afsana told Maktoob, “We don’t know where they are. I keep going to the station, but all I hear is silence. We can’t eat, we can’t sleep. It feels like he has vanished into thin air.”
“My daughter was bathing at home while the police came and picked them up from home. They were all getting ready to go out for a shoot for their videos,” she said.
“The police are not listening to us,” she added.
Naseem Fatima, whose younger brother is also missing, said the family is on the edge of collapse.
“My brother is innocent. He has nothing to do with protests or politics. We have been going to every official, kotwali, SSP office, everywhere. They tell us to wait, but how long? If they have him, let them at least show us, allow us to meet him. Why this silence?”
The families say that no official arrest records have been shared with them. Lawyers assisting the relatives argue that such detentions amount to illegal custody and violate constitutional safeguards.
Activists also warn that this kind of crackdown, without transparency, is worsening the community’s trust deficit with the police.
“It is not just about arrests, it is about dignity and rights. If someone has been picked up, their family has a right to know where they are and what charges they face,” said a local rights volunteer.
Meanwhile, police officials continue to describe those detained as “troublemakers” involved in creating disorder, but the exact number of people in custody is still unknown.
Additionally, 10 FIRs have been registered by the police, booking over 2,000 people and arresting at least 60, including prominent Muslim cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, with no specific reasons of arrest given to the families.
For now, Bareilly’s streets remain tense, with heavy police deployment.
