Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Aparna Sen call out atrocities in Uttar Pradesh on anti-CAA protestors

While filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Aparna Sen have been openly critical of the central government's actions on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the protests rocking the country, the directors have now signed an open letter questioning the Uttar Pradesh police action against civilians in the state.

In a joint statement, the filmmakers said they were 'deeply disturbed' by the events taking place in India's largest state.

The statement was also signed by actress-filmmaker Konkona Sensharma, filmmakers Vikramaditya Motwane and Alankrita Shrivastava, actress Kubbra Sait and comedian Mallika Dua, among others.

The Deccan Chronicle newspaper quoted the statement as saying, "The chief minister has been talking about taking 'revenge' against those who break the law. While no one disputes the state’s responsibility to maintain order, it is evident that such inflammatory advice — using rhetoric that goes beyond the law — has been seen as a political directive to the police to unleash excessive force on citizens and deliberately damage citizen property in a selective manner."

The signatories made an appeal for an independent judicial enquiry into the actions of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the state's police force.

The statement was read out at a press conference in New Delhi by actress Swara Bhasker and actor Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. 

The signatories said that while they "do not endorse or support any form of violence", the "sacred right of citizens to protest peacefully has been violated".

Their statement further said, "We believe that all these principles have been undermined in UP, largely because of the excesses of the government."

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath had said after sporadic instances of violence during protests, "The property of each element involved in this violence will be confiscated and used to recover compensation for public property which was damaged. All their faces have been identified. They are visible in the videography and CCTV footage. We will take revenge by confiscating their properties, I have ordered strict action." 

The filmmakers also questioned the mass detention of protestors across the state "without due process". Kashyap and Sen have been quite vocal in their opposition to the CAA.