By TCN Staff Reporter,
New Delhi: “If minorities do not get their rights, then the country cannot be called developed. If minorities and weaker sections are not safe, then the country cannot be strong. If youth and Muslim youths do not participate in the development of the country then the country cannot go on the path of progress,” said Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam, General Secretary, All India Milli Council here at Press Club of India on Wednesday.
Arbitrary arrests, torture, disappearance and extra judicial killing in custody – all this is to break the Muslim community both economically and educationally. The conspiracy was being executed first by NDA and now by UPA. Muslims are in fear psychosis, they fear arrest and disappearance at anytime anywhere, said Dr. Alam and demanded repeal of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967.
L-R: Nand Lal (Insan Dost Committee), Ravi Nair (South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre), Advocate N.D. Pancholi, Dr. Mohammad Manzoor Alam (All India Milli Council), Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani (Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind), Abdul Khalique (Lok Janshakti Party), Navaid Hamid (Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians)
He condemned the response of the Central government and state government of Maharashtra over the judicial killing of Mohammad Qateel Siddiqui and earlier Azhar Qureshi in a fake encounter in Aurangabad in March this year. He also demanded the Central government to provide details of Fasih Mahmood who is missing for one month.
Maulana Abdul Hameed Nomani, Jamiatul Ulema-e-Hind said the ruling class and the brahminist mindset in the administration want to keep Muslims and all weaker sections at receiving end. Muslims were moving ahead in the field of professional and technical education. This conspiracy is to make them backward, he said.
Abdul Khalique of Lok Janshakti Party held Government of India responsible for the disappearance of Fasih Mahmood. “Why India is not looking for Fasih, there is direct complicity of Indian government,” he said. He also expressed concern on communal hatred and poison being instilled in young mind in schools.
Navaid Hamid, director, Movement for Empowerment of Muslim Indians (MOEMIN) stressed on the need to check intelligence agencies in a democracy. He demanded probe by sitting HC judge into the killing of Qateel. “The government should end psychological war against Muslims. Congress should not forget that its base is secular justice loving minorities,” Hamid said.
Eminent lawyer N.D. Pancholi said that “such murder in high security cell of a prison is not possible without the complicity of higher officials of the state.” He said that after the murder “they are floating stories in the media that Chhota Rajan gang or Indian Mujahideen might have killed Qateel, but they are doing it just to save themselves.” “About war on terrorism they say it is to save people of the country, but I ask when you cannot save one who is in your custody in jail, how will you save the countrymen,” said Pancholi.
Legalist Ravi Nair of South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre said the custodial killing of Qateel is concerning because “There is an attempt to make an abnormal normal. The kind of response that one should have seen from Maharashtra government and Union Home Ministry and statutory bodies like National Human Rights Commission, Maharashtra Human Rights Commission, National Minorities Commission, has not come. It seems that all of them have gone to sleep. Or there is some conspiracy in the silence.”
He also lambasted the central government for callous approach over the issue of Fasih Mahmood.
“The climate of fear and suspicion that is sought to be evoked by the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 seems to have paralysed even statutory organisations that are supposed to protect the rights of citizens, namely, the National Human Rights Commission and the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission. Both abdicated their statutory duties by not ordering an immediate investigation and awarding immediate interim compensation to the next of kin and ensuring that the postmortem of Mr. Siddiqui was done in accordance with the NHRC’s own guidelines on the conduct of postmortems of those who die in judicial custody,” said a joint statement released at the end of press conference.
“The UAPA is a black law we demand its repeal as this law has bene massively abused for targeting Muslim youth. Governments, both central and state, have failed to ensure accountability of guilty police and intelligence officials,” they said put the following demands:
Demands:
CBI should probe Qateel’s murder in time bound manner. CBI must investigate not only the alleged killers and the prison officials but should also reveal wider conspiracy behind the murder of Qateel Siddiqui.
Investigation of Aurangabad encounter killing of innocent Muslim youth Azhar Qureshi by Maharashtra ATS on March 26, 2012 must be handed over to the CBI.
Pay adequate interim compensation immediately to the next of kin of Qateel Siddiqui and Azhar Qureshi
Reveal complete details and whereabouts including role of government of India in the disappearance of Fasih Mahmood from Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia