By Abdul Hameed, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: To protest the arresting of Muslims in the name of action against the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), the Qaumi Majlis-e-Shura (QMS), a non-political organization, yesterday held a dharna at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
In a memorandum later handed over to the Maharashtra Home Minister through the DGP, QMS said that those arrested have nothing to do with SIMI. The memorandum stating that SIMI was an organization of youths asks: ‘How can 40-68-year-old people be attached to it?’
Notably, within last few days the Akola police and Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS), in a joint operation, arrested eight Muslims from across various Maharashtra districts, for their alleged links with SIMI. All of them have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for holding meetings of banned organization and possessing objectionable literature.
The arrested include Abdur Razzaq Abdul Karim (40) from Jalna, Masood Khan Mehbood Khan (36) from Aurangabad, Sayyid Ibrahim Sayyid Moosa (47) from Pusad, Mohammad Rafeeq Abdur Rahman (51) from Murtizapur taluqa of Akola, Mohammad Haroon Ghiasuddin (50) & Mohammad Siddique Abdul Wahab (49) (both teachers in Anjuman Islam, Khamgaon), Abdul Ahad Abdus Samad (68) from Amravati and Mehbood Ilyas Sheikh Lal (43) from Pusad.
They all are said to have attended an alleged ‘secret meting of SIMI’ at a mosque in Mana village of Murtizapur Taluqa in Akola district of Maharashtara. As police claim, incriminating documents, 10 religious books, one CD, one notebook and five six banners have been seized from them as objectionable articles.
The Urdu media reports that the alleged ‘secret meeting’ held in Chhoti Masjid of Mana village, in fact, was a part of islahi and tarbiyati ( reformation and training) programs of Wahdat-e-Islami, an organization formed in August 21, 1994 by Maulana Ataur Rahman Wajidi in Saharanpur district of UP. The group has been conducting its programs for 15 years in different states throughout the year. Your browser may not support display of this image.
The QMS protestors termed the arrests a police conspiracy against Muslims.
Besides, the attendees of the dharna also protested against the brutality meted out on the Arthur Road jail inmates. They demanded that Swati Sathe, the former jail superintendent, and other police officers involved in the case be suspended. Some of the Arthur Road jail inmates, arrested in connection with Aurangabad arms seizure, Malegaon ‘06 blasts and 7/11 blasts cases, were beaten up by police, allegedly on the instruction of Swati Sathe when they were being transferred to other jails of the state. Bombay HC in a recent verdict has ordered the Chief Secretary of the state to conduct a departmental inquiry against the officials concerned.