By TwoCircles.net news desk
New Delhi: In an incident perceived as warning to those voicing against the injustices perpetrated by security agencies in the name of fighting terror, the Nagpur ATS has allegedly picked up Mohammad Talha, 23-year-old son of Maulana Aamir Rashadi, Principal of the famous Azamgarh madrasa Jamiatur Rashad.
The All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM) has condemned the kidnapping and demanded his immediate release.
Maulana Aamir Rashadi has been in the forefront leading the people in Azamgarh against the media campaign tarnishing the image of the district and also against the attitude of the security agencies towards the local Muslims.
In October, in the wake of the Batla House encounter and Azamgarh issue, Maulana Rashadi had organized a big conference in Azamgarh under the aegis of the Ulema Council Uttar Pradesh. It is said about 50,000 people had attended the conference. It was the largest gathering in the history of Azamgarh.
In a statement AIMMM president Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan said: The AIMMM took a strong view of the kidnapping, allegedly by the Nagpur ATS, of Mohammad Talha, 23-year-old son of Maulana Aamir Rashadi, Principal of the famous Jamiatur Rashad Islamic educational institution in Azamgarh town and a well-known Muslim scholar and human rights activist active in Uttar Pradesh.
Mohammad Talha is a financial analyst in a multinational IT company in Hyderabad. He was returning to Hyderabad after spending his holidays in Azamgarh, by the Patna-Sikandarabad Express. He alighted at Nagpur at 11.30 pm along with a colleague to fetch water. Persons claiming to be from the ATS grabbed him, pushed his colleague to the floor and spirited Talha away, said Dr Zafarul-Islam Khan giving details of the incident.
“This morning Talha was allowed to speak to his father for a few minutes during which he pleaded with his father not to make any noises about his arrest, otherwise he will be in greater trouble. The same threat was later repeated by a person who claimed to be a police officer. Talha’s whereabouts are not known and it not certain who have kidnapped him,” Dr Khan added.
“The arrest of a techie who is the son of a well-known Muslim scholar and leader who has been in the forefront of the protest against the criminalisation of Azamgarh in the wake of the Batla House encounter, is a warning to all Muslims who are raising their voices against the injustices perpetrated by security agencies in the name of fighting terror. Prima facie it is a case of exerting pressure on an active human rights defender by kidnapping his son,” he said.
He said the incident is part of an attempt to dissuade Muslim youths from pursuing higher and technical education. “The AIMMM warns the central and state governments against this lawless behaviour which flies in the face of the assurances offered by the new Union Home Minister against misuse of the anti-terror measures being adopted by the government” he said.
Maulana Rashadi was detained in 2001 following the central government’s ban on SIMI. He was arrested for allegedly disturbing communal harmony. The court, however, stayed the legal proceedings in the case.
The madrasa Jamiatur Rashad hit headlines again when its student Iqbal Abdullah claimed 10 wickets in six matches in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2008 in February in Malaysia.