Javed Mohammed 'Pump' And Afreen Fatima: Father-Daughter Activist Duo In The Eye Of Storm After Prayagraj City Authorities Demolished Their Home

The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) on Sunday (Jun 12) demolished the house of Javed Mohammed alias Javed Pump, who the cops believe is the mastermind of violent protests that erupted in the city on Friday over remarks made by Nupur Sharma on Mohammed, considered by Muslims as their last prophet.

The demolition has triggered a controversy after his daughter Afreen Fatima, a Muslim activist and a former JNU councillor, took to social media claiming that her father, mother, and sister were picked up by the Allahabad police Friday night without any notice or warrant. She even filed a complaint at the National Women's Commission seeking their intervention. A section of students in JNU also staged a protest against the demolition of Afreen Fatima's home.

According to the local police, Javed's role came to light while questioning the others accused in the rioting. He has been charged with mobilising Muslim community members to reach the spot of protests through WhatsApp messages. The protestors later indulged in stone-pelting.

"The anti-social elements used minor kids to hurl stones at the police and administration. A case registered under 29 crucial sections. Action will be taken under Gangster Act and the NSA," Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Kumar told reporters on Sunday (Jun 12).

"Names of some people from AIMIM have surfaced, we are gathering evidence against them," according to SSP Ajay Kumar.

Kumar said Javed’s daughter studies in JNU and is “involved in notorious activities.” “The father-daughter duo together propagate propaganda,” SSP said.

House Demolition

The PDA had earlier put a demolition notice at Javed's house, asking him to vacate the house by 11 am on Sunday. The demolition notice stated that the house was "illegally constructed".

"The house was built without getting its map passed by the PDA. For this, he was issued a notice on May 10 and was told to present his side on May 24. On the given date, neither Javed nor his lawyer turned up. No document was presented as well, and hence on May 25, demolition orders were issued," a senior official of PDA said.

Amid tight police security, three machines, including two JCBs, were used to demolish the house.

'In the morning, some family members of Javed Mohammed took some of their belongings and left the place through the back door. As of now, no one is inside the house." SSP Dinesh Kumar Singh said.

Prayagraj police also said they recovered two illegal weapons — 12 bore and 315 bore pistols — and objectionable posters from accused Javed Mohammad's house.

Javed Mohammed alias Javed Pump and his daughter Afreen Fathima

Javed, who runs a business dealing with pipes and water fittings, is a key member of the Welfare Party of India, an Islamist outfit founded by Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas. Illyas, a former member of the banned Islamic terror outfit SIMI, is the father of jailed JNU student activist Umar Khalid.

Afreen Fatima, Javed's daughter, is the national secretary of the Fraternity Movement, the party's student wing. Fathima, who pursued MA in linguistics at JNU, served as the elected councillor in the JNU students' union 2019-20 from the school of Language, Literature and Cultural Studies. She won as a candidate from the Fraternity-BAPSA alliance. During her campaign, she claimed that she would work towards the unity of the oppressed" and highlight issues of representation, discrimination, and identity assertion.

She had earlier served as president of the Women's College Students' Union at the Aligarh Muslim University for the 2018-19 academic year.

Afreen Fatima was almost a prominent face of the nation-wide protests by radical Muslim groups against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), a humanitarian law passed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government that sought to give easier citizenship route to Hindus, Sikhs and Christians facing religious prosecution in neighbouring Islamic nations.

Afreen Fatima was also at the forefront of protests against a decision by an educational institution in Karnataka not to permit a full veil Hijab inside the classroom (Karnataka HC later upheld the institution's right to frame rules). She claimed that the move was an attempt to invisibilise Muslim women and push them out of public spaces. Afreen Fatima and her fellow activists also visited Karnataka to express solidarity with a motley group of Muslim girl students protesting against the 'hijab ban'.