Family’s wait for Natasha Narwal gets longer as release delayed

Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Rohtak, June 16

The family members and other acquaintances of student-activist Natasha Narwal, who were awaiting her homecoming after the Delhi High Court yesterday granted her bail in a matter pertaining to violence in northeast Delhi in February 2020, were disappointed as she could not be released from the jail on Wednesday.

Activists Natasha, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha were not released from jail today as the Delhi Police told a court that it would take three days to verify the addresses of the sureties for the accused.

“We have been waiting for Natasha and were hopeful that she would return to her home in Rohtak today. However, we have been told that her release has been delayed due to procedural issues. Now that Natasha and the other students have been granted bail by the High Court, I feel that the police should act with compassion and facilitate their release,” said Natasha’s aunt Sabita while talking to The Tribune this evening.

Natasha’s father and Sabita’s brother Dr Mahavir Singh Narwal passed away at Rohtak recently while waiting and hoping for Natasha’s release from jail.

Natasha had lost her mother years ago. Her brother Aakash, who is also a student, was also hopeful of her release and had gone to Delhi to receive her, said Sabita.

“The High Court’s order (of releasing the arrested student-activists on bail) should have been implemented within 24 hours of its pronouncement. In the name of physical verification of the addresses of the sureties, the police are seeking time for getting the Delhi High Court’s order stayed by the Supreme Court,” maintained Inderjit Singh, a veteran Communist leader who has been closely associated with Natasha’s family.

Natasha, who is a research scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), participated in the anti-CAA protests, had been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and arrested in May 2020 in connection with north-east Delhi violence.

She is also associated with ‘Pinjra Tod’, a collective of women students and alumni of colleges across Delhi that seeks to make regulations of hostels and paying-guest (PG) accommodations less restrictive for women students.