By Mohd Ismail Khan, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: There is yet another game being played by the Andhra Pradesh government with the Muslims. The much-publicized ‘historic’ and ‘unprecedented’(as put by mainstream media) move of the state government to pay compensation to the innocent Muslim youths who were arrested, tortured and falsely implicated in Mecca Masjid bomb blast case, is now showing its true face. The ‘poor’ government has ordered to pay the compensation amount of Rs 70 lakh which will be debitable to the administration of Mecca Masjid itself besides that of Shahi Masjid-public garden.
Like the whole bomb blast case and its further investigation, the government order for compensation also looks faulty. The state Congress government on 6th December issued G.O.Rt.No. 4268, for the administrative sanction of Rs 70,00,000 as a “confidence building measure and compensation for 20 cases affected in Mecca masjid bomb blast case”. This G.O. (government order) explicitly affirms that the expenditure sanctioned shall be debitable from the funds of administration of Mecca Masjid and public garden (shahi masjid).
Mecca Masjid [TCN photo]
“In pursuance of the Orders issued in the G.O… Government after careful examination hereby accord Administrative Sanction for an amount of Rs. 70.00 Lakhs (Rupees Seventy Lakhs only) towards expenditure to be incurred in connection with Confidence Building Measures and Compensation for 20 cases affected in Mecca Masjid Bomb Blasts in 2007. These orders were issued in relaxation of Treasury Control and quarterly regulation orders subject to providing funds by way of obtaining Supplementary Grants during 2011-12 at the appropriate time under the Non-Plan. The Expenditure sanctioned above shall be debitable to the “2225 – 80 – MH 800 – SH (08) – Administration of Mecca Masjid and Public Garden 310/312 – Other Grant-in-Aid (To be Opened)”, reads the government order.
TCN spoke to Andhra govt principal secretary
Dr. Mohd Ali Rafat, principal secretary to the government and head of minority welfare department, is the person who has issued the G.O.
TCN spoke to Mr. Rafat to know why government had to pay compensation amount from the funds of masjids. He downplayed the whole issue, saying it is a procedural thing. “Minority welfare department is out of funds so it had to choose any administrative department to provide compensation, administrative funds of Mecca Masjid and Shahi Masjid in public garden were just chosen from options, government will return back the amount as grant-in-aid as it was referred in G.O. sooner or later,” said Mr. Rafat. But he failed to explain whether the government was hit by so severe economic downturn that they can’t pay the compensation amount directly, but chose the administrative funds of mosques which struggle to pay remunerations to its workers.
TCN asked about the list of Muslim youths who are going to be paid compensation. He said one more G.O. is going to be issued regarding this.
Meanwhile, officials in the government department are telling the media that 70 youths are going to be paid compensation of 70 lakhs — 20 each will get the amount of Rs 3 lakhs and rest of 50 will get Rs 20,000 each.
According to the government those 20 were youths who were booked in false cases and spent time in jails, and the rest of 50 are those who were arrested by the police for interrogation. This figure is highly disputable. After the event of Mecca Masjid and two other bomb blasts in the city, more than 50 Muslim youths were put in illegal custody and framed in false charges in different bomb blast related cases and more than 100 youths were arrested for the interrogation by the police.
One of the acquitted, Dr. Junaid Ali Ibrahim[TCN photo]
Minority panel recommendations gathering dust
The decision of government of A.P. to pay compensation was welcomed by everyone in Hyderabad and elsewhere, saying that the government is finally implementing the recommendations of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) for this case. But the fact is that the government has not implemented even a single recommendation of NMC.
The first and foremost recommendation of the NCM was: Proceed against the Policemen guilty of unwarranted detention of innocent youths under the law with immediate effect. This has not yet been done.
The second recommendation was: The Govt of AP should immediately provided Govt jobs to the victims according with their qualifications. This has also not been implemented.
Third was that the state govt should consider paying compensation deducting the salaries of guilty and communal biased police men. The government has not done that. Instead, it has allotted compensation to the victims from the maintenance fund of Mecca Masjid and the Shahi Masjid at public garden.
Fourth was the state government should provide good character certificate to the youths to enable them to return to normal life free from the suspicion of being criminal. This is also gathering dust.
Fifth was to revive AP state minorities commission to make it more active and to deter the cases of harassment of Muslim youths by the police. Till now no action has been taken on even a single recommendation except for the one on compensation which is going to be given from maintenance funds of masjids which hardly get enough funds.
First implicate, then compensate
Not all are happy with the mere compensation offer. They want punishment to the erring officials so that others could be kept from repeating it.
Jamiat Ulama Andhra Pradesh said this move of the government will going to be a bad example. Jamiat president Maulana Mufti Ghayasuddin Rehmani Qasmi said it will lay down a bad precedent. Police can arrest innocent Muslims, torture them, implicate them in false cases, and destroy their reputation in the society, harass them for five years and then the government will give them few lakhs and asked them to forget all and move on.
He said compensation is paid for accidents but this not an accident, it was a deliberate attempt by the communal minded police officers to target Muslims, and the proper justice can only be served when those guilty police officers get punished.
First close cases against us, then talk of compensation: Victims
Khaki terror victims too are not much happy. They want the government to admit their guilt and punish the police officers. More importantly, they want closure of their cases first.
TCN spoke to some of the acquitted Muslim youths. Dr Ibrahim Ali Junaid said: “Compensation has no meaning for us because the government is not admitting their guilt, the cases which were put on me and many Muslim youths are still open, government should have first closed the false cases against us, then they should talk about compensation. The police officers who had detained us illegally and tortured us are being promoted. This is a mockery of justice.”
“Government is even not serious about providing compensation in a proper way. In the G.O. they have not mentioned that we are the victims of police bias instead they had put us as “affected party”, in other words government is not admitting that we have being wrongly implicated, and even the compensation amount is going to be given from the maintenance funds of masjids, I cannot accept it. Taking money which belongs to mosque is against the tenets of Islam, and it is haraam”.
Dr. Junaid Ali Ibrahim[ talking to media [TCN photo]
Mohd Imraan Khan was an engineering student when he was arrested in 2007. He said: “I don’t want this few lakh rupees, this is not going to compensate the pain and shame which I had suffered in the jail and in the society after the arrest, I want justice, a proper justice. Those communal police officers who had tortured us and destroyed our future should be suspended and brought to justice, I want them to suffer the same pain and humility which I had suffered in my prison days”.
Why not compensate from CM’s relief fund?
Civil Liberties Monitoring Committee has already filed a petition for the compensation in the city civil court. CLMC general secretary Lateef Mohd Khan said: “When the blast happened in Mecca Masjid Muslims got killed, in the subsequent police firing on that day Muslims got killed, then the police arrested many Muslim youths in the charges of blasting their own mosque, and now the government is going to pay the compensation from the funds of administration of Mecca masjid, it is silly joke for the Muslims of this city. If chief minister was so serious about his ‘confidence building measure’ he should have paid it from chief minister’s relief fund, the government here is trying to show that they can detain Muslims for blasting their own mosque and they can even pay compensation from that same mosque”.
There is a distressing thing in this whole controversy. The Urdu media was in forefront of all this fight for justice and compensation for Muslim youths. They had huge success in building opinion among general Muslims against the government and acted as pressure group, but now they are not raising this issue of compensation amount. As soon as the news of G.O was announced every Urdu newspaper had welcomed it and competed to take credit of it, but they did not go into the details critically. Moreover, no Urdu paper is talking about action to be taken against guilty police officers. Chief Minister has definitely proved that he is smart administrator. By throwing some lakhs from funds of masjids he has closed the mouths of whole Muslim community in Hyderabad.
G.O. of Andhra Govt. on compensation to Muslim youths
GOVERNMENT OF ANDHRA PRADESH ABSTRACT
Minorities Welfare Department – Budget Estimates 2011-12 – Non-Plan Budget – Release Order for an amount of Rs. 70,00,000/- (Rupees Seventy lakhs only) towards expenditure to be incurred in connection with Confidence Building Measures and Compensation for 20 cases affected in Mecca Masjid Bomb Blasts in 2007 – Additional Funds – Administrative Sanction – Orders – Issued.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
MINORITIES WELFARE (MFC) DEPARTMENT
G.O.Rt.No. Dated: 06-12-2011.
Read:-
G.O.Rt.No. 4268, (Expr.SW) Department, Dated: 03-12-2011.
-*******-
ORDER:-
In pursuance of the Orders issued in the G.O. read above, Government after careful examination hereby accord Administrative Sanction for an amount of Rs. 70.00 Lakhs (Rupees Seventy Lakhs only) towards expenditure to be incurred in connection with Confidence Building Measures and Compensation for 20 cases affected in Mecca Masjid Bomb Blasts in 2007. These orders were issued in relaxation of Treasury Control and quarterly regulation orders subject to providing funds by way of obtaining Supplementary Grants during 2011-12 at the appropriate time under the Non-Plan.
2. The Expenditure sanctioned above shall be debitable to the “ 2225 – 80 – MH 800 – SH (08) – Administration of Mecca Masjid and Public Garden 310/312 – Other Grant-in-Aid (To be Opened)”
3. The Drawing and Disbursing Officer, i.e., Assistant Secretary to Government, Minorities Welfare (OP/Claims) Department is authorized to draw and disburse the amount as detailed at para 2 in favour of the Institution (APSMFC) for meeting the expenditure in connection with payment.
4. This order issues with the concurrence of Finance (Expr.SW) Department vide their U.O.No. 12368/399/A1/2011, Dated: 03-12-2011.
(BY ORDER AND IN THE NAME OF THE GOVERNOR OF ANDHRA PRADESH)
Dr. MOHD. ALI RAFATH,
SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT.
To
The Vice Chairman & Managing Director, A.P. State Minorities Finance Corporation, Hyderabad (w.e.) for necessary action.
Copy to:
The Drawing & Disbursing Officer and Assistant Secretary to Government, M.W. Dept.
The Minorities Welfare (OP) Department
The Director of Treasuries & Accounts, A.P., Hyderabad
The Pay & Accounts Officer, A.P., Hyderabad.
The Deputy Pay & Accounts Officer, A.P. Secretariat, Hyderabad.
The Finance (Expr-SW) Department]
The Finance (BG-IV) Department
The Accountant General, A.P., Hyderabad]
The P.S. to Secretary to Government, M.W. Department
The O.S.D. to Minister (MW)
sc/sf
// FORWARDED :: BY ORDER //
SECTION OFFICER