By TCN News,
Bhopal: The Social Democratic Party of India, (SDPI), has vehemently condemned the investigating agencies probing the recent Hyderabad bomb blasts, wherein 16 people were reported to have been killed, for targetting only the Muslim youths, especially those who were exonerated as they were found innocent about their involvement in May 2007 Makkah Masjid blast. The party has demanded the Andhra Pradesh Government to instruct the Director General of Police to stop targetting of Muslim youths and investigation of bomb blast should be in a fair manner irrespective of religion while abiding by the set guidelines.
SDPI national president E. Abubacker in a Press statement took strong exception to the role of media and the probing agencies for once again treading on the same path of Makkah Masjid blast investigations. He said that the Special Investigation Team, (SIT), is zeroing on number of Muslim youths for interrogation, who had been falsely implicated in the May 2007 Makkah Masjid blast case, while completely violating the Supreme Court guidelines for investigations. This despite the fact that the Andhra Pradesh government has already regretted its mistake and had given them compensation and certificates of good conduct.
Abubacker while pulling up the media for running media trial of Muslims pointed out the catastrophic blunder the electronic media committed in its eagerness for “Breaking News” and trying to paint the community with a black brush. He said many Indian TV news channels in last two days have flashed an image of a bearded youth Manzar Imam describing him as member of the so-called Indian Mujahideen, (IM), who is prime suspect or “mastermind” for the Hyderabad twin blasts. However, it has been revealed, courtesy a Pakistan English daily “The Express Tribune”, that the man named Manzar Imam was a member of Pakistan Assembly from Muttahida Qaumi Movement, (MQM), and he was killed more than a month ago in Pakistan in a targeted attack on January 17, which the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan have claimed responsibility for.
He said the probe should be objective and based on evidence. The investigating agencies seem to have the tendency to name the perpetrators of any bomb blasts in the country much before initiation and conclusion of their probes. The media and police is having a wrong notion, probably intentionally, that only Muslims are responsible for the blasts and none other than Muslims will do such kind of acts.
Abubacker alleged that Hindutva fascist police wants to suppress the Muslims by taking the advantage of investigation of bomb blasts. The police in the Makkah Masjid investigations due to their biased and prejudiced approach had shattered and marred irreparably the career of a number of Muslim youths. Innumerable Muslim accused having been found by due process of law to be innocent of terror involvement, he pointed out.
The statement asked whether the police has undertaken a questioning of those newspapers and TV channels which have been promoting the lopsided image of Muslim community as responsible for such events, to ascertain which “sources” they got these credible bits of information from? Has the police undertaken a questioning of those mysterious sources to ascertain what information they have and to know whether they are somehow involved.
Abubacker questioned whether the police has taken any steps to book cases against these media houses, press reporters and newspapers, for publishing material without reasonable basis, as it causes dissensions within society and polarizes it, creating enmity between groups and sections of society along religious lines?
He wondered that if the police is yet to analyse the data from the camera that was making a CCTV record of the area/s in question, then how is it that named suspects are being spoken of even before that exercise, and all of them happen to be only Muslims? If in earlier blasts like the ones in Samjhauta Express, Ajmer, Malegaon, Makkah Masjid etc., right wing groups have been found on NIA investigation to be involved, how and why is it that none of those from those organisations or linked to those accused, are being investigated or their names shown as possibly involved?
Abubacker expressed deep concern on the media reports that the Andhra Pradesh State Police is reluctant to hand over the investigation to the National Investigation Agency, (NIA). Why on earth is that? Is it that the State Police desires a certain outcome and the investigation by the NIA can come up with results that a certain section of Indian society holding certain non-inclusive, non-pluralistic, non-secular views would be upset by this?
He has urged the Andhra Pradesh government to disband the SIT and hand over the case to NIA for investigation in a professional manner which is devoid of any lacuna or prejudice towards any particular community.
SDPI has also questioned whether the police officials who are investigating these matters have been screened to ensure that they are not persons with anti-Muslim bias or they are reluctant to see right-wing hands that the evidence points towards?