By A Mirsab, TwoCirlces.net,
Mumbai: Maharashtra assembly witnessed sharp criticism from Muslim MLAs over the baseless statement of Shiv Sena MLA Rahul Patil in Maharashtra assembly that 100 Muslim youths have gone missing from Marathwada region and that state government should probe if they have joined ISIS in Syria.
On July 22, Patil raked up a controversy when he alleged that the 100 youths have gone missing from Marathwada recently and they were in touch with ISIS. “If the state government fails to act in time, these youth would pose grave threat to communal harmony in society,” Patil said in the assembly. Same statement was also reiterated by one more sena MLA Subhash Sambe.
Muslim MLAs reacted sharply to this allegation and asked Patil to produce any evidence to substantiate his claim or it would be his attempt to spread fear among Muslims.
Waris Pathan, an AIMIM MLA from Mumbai, strongly denounced Patil’s allegation and said, “Sena is making wild allegations to create fear psychosis among majority community ahead of next year’s BMC elections for its vote bank politics”.
“Has anyone from the families of these youth registered a missing complaint?” Abu Asim Azmi,SP MLA from Mumbai questioned while addressing media at Legislative Assembly complex. He alleged the BJP-led Maharashtra government and police are misusing the ISIS issue to spread “fear” among the Muslims.
“The government and police are using the ISIS issue to spread fear among Muslims,” Azmi alleged.
Arif Naseem Khan, Congress MLA and former minority minister also rubbished Patil’s claim and said it is an attempt to terrorise Muslims under the name of ISIS. If there was anything like this then government should probe but without any investigation such statement should not be made in the assembly, he said.
Patil made such statement in the wake of two arrests – Naser Bin Yafai Chaus, 31 and Shahid Khan, 24 – made by state ATS from Parbhani suspected of being in touch with ISIS members in Iraq.
Police reject Patil’s claim
ToI reported three special IGs heading the Marathwada region to have dismissed Patil’s claim and said there is no such information available with the police and neither did they provide the information to the MLA.
Special IG (Nanded range) Chiranjiv Prasad told, “We do not have any such information and I think these are exaggerated and conjured figures.”
Another superintendent of police said, Many a times such vague statements allegedly given to garner publicity, diverts the focus of the law enforcement agencies.
Abu Asim Azmi uses police’s dismissal to counter Patil
On Thursday Azmi, took on Shiv Sena and it’s MLA Patil for raking a baseless controversy and said that police has proved Patil’s ill intention behind propagating false news of 100 youths joining ISIS.
“In a peace meeting with community leaders in Marathwada police have told that there only eight youths who are missing out of which three were mentally disturbed while one was indebted and disturbed. Only four youths are missing from the region, so Patil’s claim has been thrown back to him by police themselves”, Azmi said in the assembly.
On July 26, police had convened a peace meeting with community leaders as Muslims were upset due to presence of ATS in the region and apprised them that they should not be bothered with the Patil’s statement in the assembly. Police told them that only four youths are unaccounted for and whereabouts not known and there was no indication that they had joined ISIS.
Armed with the police counter claim, Azmi told in the assembly, “Shiv Sena MLAs have misguided assembly by raising baseless charges against Muslims.”