Mohammed Suleiman, a 20-year-old UPSC aspirant was killed by Uttar Pradesh police in late 2019 for protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Two years later, his mother Akbari Khatoon became the Congress party’s candidate for the upcoming Assembly polls in UP.
Khatoon will contest from Bijnor in the elections.
The Congress party announced Khatoon’s nomination on Wednesday and a day later she filed her papers.
Alongside 23 other Muslim men, Suleiman was killed in police firing during the anti-CAA protests.
Speaking to Indian Express, Khatoon said, “We have been fighting for justice for more than two years. Police harassed us, but we did not back down. The Congress is giving a chance to the marginalised sections of society who have been harassed and oppressed by this government.”
“I am fighting this election to get justice for my son, and many others like him who are oppressed by this government,” said the housewife and mother of seven.
In December 2019, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Bijnor police granted a clean chit to six policemen, including the station house officer of Nehtaur Police Station, while accusing the deceased Muslim man (and several other deceased) of violence.
