In February last year more than 50 people were killed after clashes broke out between those supporting the contentious citizenship law – which makes religion test of citizenship for the first time and its critics. Pinjra Tod activists Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal were arrested a year ago in the Delhi riots case. Last week, activists and various civil society groups came together to mark a year of the arrest of women’s collective Pinjra Tod members. They were earlier arrested on similar charges – relating specifically to citizenship law riots in the Jaffrabad area of Delhi – but were given bail for that case. Ms Narwal and Ms Kalita were arrested, for the second time, by Delhi Police, immediately after the first bail order.
In the second wave of Covid-19 in May, Natasha Narwal lost her father while she was still in prison. She was granted bail after the demise of her father, Mahavir Narwal, to allow her to perform his last rites. The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to three activists – Pinjra Tod members Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, and Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha – who were arrested over a year ago in connection with riots in the city over the controversial citizenship law.
