A case has been registered against Afghan Solidarity Committee chief Ahmad Zia Ghani for allegedly violating COVID-19 guidelines while protesting outside the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) office here, the Delhi Police said on Wednesday.
Amid the crisis in Afghanistan after the Taliban took over the war-torn nation, a large number of Afghan refugees in India held protests in front of the UNHCR office at Vasant Vihar in South Delhi demanding the release of “support letters” from the UN agency to migrate to other countries for better opportunities.
An FIR was registered against Mr. Ghani at Vasant Vihar police station on August 31. “We registered a case under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) last week for violating COVID guidelines. No one has been arrested yet,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-West) Ingit Pratap Singh said.
The Delhi police on Tuesday filed a status report in the High Court stating that the protest by Afghan refugees has been withdrawn from the UNHCR office.
The High Court was hearing a petition filed by the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association seeking the removal of protestors in the proximity of residential areas.
The agitation, led by the Afghan Solidarity Committee, started on August 23 and saw protesters arriving from Lajpat Nagar, Bhogal, Noida, Greater Noida and Faridabad, among other places.
Mr. Ghani had said that there are about 21,000 Afghan refugees in India and of them, only 7,000 have valid documents or refugee cards.
