The scholar at Meerut’s Chaudhary Charan Singh University was arrested in October 2020 while on his way to Hathras to meet the family of the Dalit girl who was allegedly gang-raped and murdered.

Zafar Aafaq 

NEW DELHI – Jailed student leader Atiqur Rahman has been hospitalised in New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Sunday morning after his health condition deteriorated, his family and the Campus Front of India, the organisation he is associated with, said.

Mateen, his brother, told Clarion India, that one side of Rahman’s body is shaking rhythmically and involuntarily. “We are in the emergency ward and doctors have advised CT scan.”

Mateen said they got a call from jail authorities at around 2 pm (Sunday) informing that Rahman was unwell and shifted to AIIMS.

Rehman is suffering from a severe chronic heart related ailment called Aortic Regurgitation and his condition has worsened during his stay in jail. His friend, Mohammad Moonis, who is also attending to him at the hospital appealed for his release. “His condition is complicated and needs proper care, hence he should not continue languishing in jail further. We request for his bail.”

His wife, Sanjeeda Begum, also expressed concern over sudden deterioration of his health. She said she could not travel to Delhi to see her husband in the hospital as she is also unwell.

The 28-year old scholar at Meerut’s Chaudhary Charan Singh University   was arrested, along with three others including journalist Sidiq Kappan, in October 2020 by Uttar Pradesh Police while on their way to Hathras to meet the family of the Dalit girl who was murdered after alleged gang rape.

The police accused them of conspiring to foment trouble in the state at a time when government was under pressure for cremating the body of rape victim without consent of the family. The conspiracy case was dropped after the police failed to file chargesheet on time. However, the case under anti-terror law, UAPA, filed days after the arrest is keeping them in jail. The other accused in the case are Masood Ahmed, Alam, Rauf Sharif, Firoze, Ansad Badruddin and Danish.

In October last year, when his condition deteriorated, the authorities under pressure from the Allahabad High Court shifted him to the AIIMS.

According to his family, a month before his arrest, Rahman was advised to undergo Bentall procedure but that remains pending since he has not been granted relief by courts despite applying for bail on medical grounds.

The Campus Front of India also expressed concern over hospitalisation of Rahman and announced an online social media campaign for his bail.

“He is in jail on fabricated charges. His bail has been denied multiple times despite him being a heart patient. We demand his immediate bail. Judiciary must intervene,” MS Sajid, the National President of Campus Front said in a statement to Clarion India.