By TCN Staff Correspondent,
Mumbai/Delhi: Here is another case of blatant violation of law by a law enforcing agency. Maharashtra ATS on 1st January picked up four Muslim youths — Qamar Alam Sheikh, Abdul Wahab, Tanveer Alam and Mohd Ashraf. All of them are from Bihar and are student of Swami Parmananda College of Engineering, Mohali (Punjab). Mumbai ATS took Qamar Alam Sheikh and Abdul Wahab to Mumbai while Tanveer Alam and Mohd Ashraf were released on 3rd January 2012.
Sources in ATS Mumbai confirmed TwoCircles.net that the agency has made the arrests in some fake currency related case. They boys have been arrested under FIR no 33/11 under section 419, 420, 465, 467 and 120B of Indian Penal Code.
But most importantly till now Mumbai ATS hasn’t informed the family of Qamar Alam Sheikh and Abdul Wahab about their arrest. The families of the arrested students could get information two days back only after two of the boys were released.
The SC Guidelines on arrest say that within 8-12 hours of making any arrests the police must inform the family of the person concerned about his arrest and the location where s/he has been kept by the police.
“Within 24 hours of FIR and consequent arrest, police must inform the family of the arrested person. Not informing the family is a violation of not only the law but human rights as well,” said Adv. Ziyaul Huda of Patna High Court. To arrest someone on the basis of mere suspicion and holding him in custody for days, is also against natural justice, he added.
Akhlaq Ahmad of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) said that the manner in which the four Muslim youths were arrested, showed that the Mumbai ATS not only violated the SC Guidelines on making arrests it also violated the UN’s International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, of which India is a signatory.
Ahmad also highlighted that the SC Guidelines on Arrests is pasted at the office gate of Delhi police special cell but questioned, “Are those guidelines only to be pasted outside the gates and not to be followed?”
“It has become a trend now for agencies like ATS and Special Cell of police to violate SC guidelines and the honorable court should take a notice and take strong action against the violators.”
In the absence of any official information to the concerned families intimating the arrests, the family members have gone through trauma and pain.
(With inputs from TCN Patna Bureau)