New Delhi, Jan 1 (IANS): A prominent Shia Muslim cleric and scholar Maulana Kalbe Jawad will meet those families in Uttar Pradesh who have either lost their members or were injured or have members lodged in the jail in the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.

The Maulana said this on Wednesday before leaving for Meerut and Muzaffarnagar. Besides meeting the families, he will also visit the seminary in Muzaffarnagar whose principal, a revered figure Asad Raza Hussaini, has been brutally beaten up by the police and many students arrested.

While the protest against the CAA have been going on in other parts of the country, the situation in Uttar Pradesh has subsided. Over 20 lost their lives in the protest in the state.

The Shia cleric, who earlier did not oppose the CAA, has now come out openly against the Act. He has met Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi to demanded the release of the innocents.

He also demanded that students arrested from a Shia Madarsa in Muzaffarnagar should be released and action should be taken against the erring officials.

In a memorandum Jawad stated: "The honourable Chief Minister has said that those who have been involved in violence will be brought to the book, but Uttar Pradesh Police is arresting innocent people from their homes."

The Maulana enjoys a considerable influence over Shias in Uttar Pradesh.