Life limps back to normal in Muzaffarnagar after Waqf Bill protest, notices to 300 for wearing black bands

Eerie calm in Sarwat village after protests against Waqf Bill, 300 people asked to furnish ₹2 lakh bond.

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An eerie calm prevails across the surrounding areas of Sarwat village in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, where the authorities have issued notices to at least 300 people and asked them to furnish a bond of ₹2 lakh each for wearing black armbands during Friday prayers to protest against the Waqf (Amendment) Bill.

The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on Thursday, and Parliament on Friday (April 4 ) cleared it after a nearly 14-hour debate in the Rajya Sabha.

In Muzaffarnagar, shops have opened, and people have returned to work, even as they are worried about the police’s constant surveillance during Friday prayers. Founded in 1633 near Sarwat, most people in the predominantly Muslim locality run small businesses like clinics, restaurants, tea stalls, or sanitary stores.

On April 4, the residents wore black armbands during Friday prayers to protest against the Bill, a move that prompted police action. By the next day, 24 people were issued notices asking them to furnish bonds of ₹2 lakh each after appearing before the court on April 16. Later, Superintendent of Police (City) Satyanarayan Prajapat said that at least 300 people, who were identified through CCTV footage, had been served such notices for “disrupting peace”.

Sitting on a charpoy at his well-lit one-bedroom house, Maulana Shibli, who manages the Ayesha Mosque and sells medicines for a living, said it was supposed to be a “symbolic and peaceful” protest.

“Everybody here planned to wear a black band on their arms, and we were strictly told not to raise our voices or shout slogans. Even though the police were around, no one stopped us,” he said.