Face of Jamia protest a terror sympathizer?

By Rohan Agarwal

New Delhi, Dec 19 (SocialNews.XYZ) A photograph that has been used to target the police force for its action during the anti-CAA protests in the Jamia area on Sunday may have brought out Aysha Renna as the face of the agitation.

However, Aysha's Facebook page, which stands deactivated now, suggested that she might not be an old style student activist.

In one of the posts dated July 31, 2015, Aysha wrote -- "Yakub Memon, I am sorry #am hepless in this fascist country, #I can regret lk a doll."

The screenshot of this post was widely circulated on social media after she became the face of the Jamia protests. But, the post could not be located on scrolling through her facebook ID.

When IANS tried contacting her through the same ID, Aysha initially did not reply. Later the Facebook page was deactivated.

IANS contacted her husband, Afzal Rehman, who blamed the media and the authorities of running a hate campaign against his family, while speaking to IANS.

Asked specifically about the veracity of the post in which Aysha purportedly contacts Yakub Memon, he declined to comment on the post.

"I won't comment on anything, this is part of a hate campaign run by the media and these authorities against my wife and the other girl in photograph," Afzal Rehman said.

When asked again about the post and its authenticity, Rehman said, "I won't comment on anything."

Afzal Rahman, a journalist at India Tomorrow English and a contributor at Outlook India, Asianet News, Madhyamam, Maktoob Media, Manorama Online and MediaOne TV, on his social media profile describes himself as "an unfinished sulaimani". MediaOne is Jamaat-e-Islami's high tech media channel.

The social media profile of Aysha Renna says she is from Kondotty in Kerala. She has listed herself as a student and a secretary at Yes India with a Bachelors in English from Farook College. It says she lives in Delhi.

In one of Rahman's posts with a picture of his wife warning security personnel, which he shared on Facebook, he says, "I don't know how much I should bow down before Allah to be blessed with a better half like her. More power to you my girl Renna. He will reward you for all the pains you bear." Renna was tagged in the post.

IANS in its previous report had brought to light that the hijab-clad woman protester, whose picture and video have gone viral on social media since the violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), was associated with Fraternity Youth Movement, which is the youth organisation of Welfare Party of India, political wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami-Hind (JeI), a conservative Islamic religious group.

(Rohan Agarwal can be contacted at Rohan.a@ians.in)

Source: IANS