By Shaik Zakeer Ussain, TwoCircles.net,
Banglore: Shamshul Huda, a social activist and editor of the Urdu literary monthly Makhzan, was brutally murdered on Wednesday morning at his office in Devara Jeevanahalli, Tannery Road.
63 year old Huda, a resident of Bamboo Bazaar in Shivajinagar, had left home at around 7.30 a.m. to his office. According to the police, the murder came to light, when the office computer operator, who arrived at around 10.45 a.m. found Huda lying in a pool of blood with a deep injury on his neck in his cabin.
Shamshul Huda
The unidentified assailants had attacked Huda by strangulating him before slitting his throat, said the police.
Kamal Pant, additional commissioner (law & order), said the motive for the murder was unclear. He said a small safe in the office was broken and money kept in it missing.
Shamsul Huda, apart from being an editor of Makhzan was also a lifelong social activist. Shivajinagar MLA, R Roshan Baig, who arrived at the murder spot, said that Huda in his youth had founded Muslim Naujawan Committee as a reactionary response to the RSS and during the Emergency in 1975 was incarcerated for 18 months in Bangalore and Bellary prisons.
After Emergency, he launched the Urdu weekly Al-Quds.
He also ran Al-Quds Minorities Credit Co-Operative Society, a financial institution which gave Interest-free loans to the poor of the community.
Huda had recently published some articles attacking city’s Amanath Cooperative Bank, for misappropriating funds and had also lead protests against the bank, which has freezed operations under the directions of RBI due to financial irregularities. According to close friends and relatives, he had received threat calls to stay away from the protest.
Huda is survived by his bedridden wife Razia Begum. The couple had no children.
A case of murder has been registered at the D J Halli police station. The post-mortem was conducted at the Bowring Hospital before handing over the body to the family in the evening. The funeral prayer was held late night.