By Sanjay Sharma
Bhopal(IANS) : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be opposing the Organised Crime Control Bill in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh but the stage is all set for a similar law in Madhya Pradesh where it is in power, official sources said.
Worried over the increasing activities of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and radical Islamist groups in neighbouring states, Madhya Pradesh is contemplating an anti-terror law to come down on terrorists with a heavy hand.
“The proposed legislation – modelled on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) to deal with anti-national elements – has already been cleared by a secretary level committee and sent to the law department to give it a final shape,” a senior official of the home department said on condition of anonymity.
He added that the government plans to present it during the budget session of the state assembly slated for March-April 2008.
“The end result would, however, depend on the attitude of the central government since some of the provisions in the bill require its clearance. These provisions are mostly related to amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code and the state would forward the bill for approval by the centre once it is cleared by the law department,” the official said.
The state government has felt the need for a law to tackle growing Maoist violence and terrorism ever since the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government scrapped the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).
The state bill, however, contains provisions for banning organisations found to have links with Maoists and other terrorist outfits.
The bill also provides for stringent punishment to those found sheltering or having links with such elements. When implemented, those found concealing any knowledge about activities of such elements would also be strictly dealt with.
Police also argue that an anti-terror law was the need of the hour because the state had become a safe haven for ‘anti-nationals’ and even Pakistani nationals with a dubious background.
A large number of activists of the outlawed Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) have been arrested in the state, especially from the western region.
“While SIMI activities were confined to Indore, Ujjain, Khandwa and Bhopal before the ban on it in 2001, they have spread to Burhanpur, Guna, Neemuch and Shajapur now,” a police official said.
Before the ban, 33 cases were registered against SIMI activists in various districts for spreading religious discord. Since then, however, 49 cases have been filed against the body.
SIMI national general secretary Safdar Nagauri, an Ujjain resident in his 40s, has been absconding since the ban. “He has cases against him of spreading religious discord since 1997-98,” a police official told IANS.
Since the ban, 180 SIMI activists have been arrested from across the state. And since April this year, five SIMI members, including two women have been taken into custody in Khandwa, four in Burhanpur and one each in Jabalpur and Ujjain.
“It is not SIMI alone but several anti-national forces, including the underworld and Pakistani spies, have joined hands,” said the outgoing Bhopal Police Superintendent Anant Kumar Singh.