This special TCN series highlights some of the example cases of people accused of terrorism and their struggle for justice. This series is sponsored by Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC).
By Zaidul Haque, TwoCircles.net,
Murshidabad/Kolkata: Two Muslim youths who were arrested on 29 July 2008 on charges of having links with banned Lashkar-e-Toiba and for carrying out ‘anti-national’ activities are languishing in jail for five years now although the Criminal Investigation Department of West Bengal has failed to even file charge-sheet till date.
Within days of the Bangalore serial blasts on 25 July 2008, two Muslim youths Mohammad Mustaque (then 30 years old), a garment trader and Hassanuzzaman (then 21 years old) alias Hassan Master a Para-teacher from Jangipur of Murshidbad were arrested for their suspected connection with the LeT and they are since waiting for their trials behind the dark dungeon.
File photo of Mohammad Mustaque.
What Happened?
At around 1.30 pm on 29th July, 2008 a CID team of West Bengal reached to Raghunathganj Market in Murshidabad to nab the alleged linkman. According to then Director General of CID (Operation) Siddhinath Gupta a group of investigating officers of CID knocked at the cloth shop of Mohammad Mustaque and arrested him.
The CID team then reached the Primary School at Raghunathganj area where teacher training was in progress and arrested Hassanuzzaman alias Hassan Master. The leading English Daily of West Bengal, The Telegraph had published the news on its front page on 31 July with the headline, “Lashkar camp in Bengal village.” Other English and Bengali dailies had also published the news in its front pages.
What was the allegation?
After the arrests of Mustaque and Hassanuzzaman, then DG of CID (Operation) Siddhinath Gupta had told journalists that Jammu and Kashmir police had tipped off his office about the arrested persons and that Mustaque was giving shelter to a Pakistani national Sikandar Azam in his house, a Let militant operating from Bangladesh, who was later arrested in J&K. The Lashkar had apparently paid Rs 2 lakhs to them for providing Sikandar with logistical support.
CID sleuths had also alleged then that Mustaque had started an organisation called Ahle-Hadith and that they were trying to start a camp in Jangipur to motivate local youths to join the extremist organization and distributed leaflets in Urdu and English. Mustaque had allegedly met a LeT leader during a visit to Biratnagar in Nepal.
Siddhinath Gupta had also told journalists then that the police had found a laptop, pen-drive, video, Urdu leaflets, etc from Mustaque’s house at village Gopalnagar.
Produced in court
CID had produced the duo at the Jangipur Court and Public prosecutor had told the court that laptop, objectionable pictures, fake Indian currency of 100 and 500 notes, Hindi and Urdu leaflets, booklets, pen drive, etc were confiscated.
CID had filed the case against the Mustaque and Hassanuzzamn under the Indian Penal Code 489B, 489C, 120, 121, 121A and 124. Jangipur sub-judicial court had then ordered for 14 days police custody and accepted appeal of CID to take them to Kolkata for interrogation. They were in Alipore Jail for few days and later transferred to the Baharampur Jail in Murshdiabad, where they are awaiting their fate.
Five years have passed since then, but the CID has not filed the charge-sheet yet in the court. And the two youths are still languishing in jails, without even a fair trial.
Wife of Mustaque Daliara Bibi with their children.
Mustaque and his family:
Mohammad Mustaque, who was 30 at the time of his arrest, was a garments trader at Raghunathganj Town in Murshidabad district. Son of Yusuf Ali, he hails from an influential family in the village of Gopalnagar in the Raghunaganj sub-division of Jangipur in the Murshidabad district, and was himself a Bengali Honours graduate.
Mustaque was arrested in 2001 too for few days allegedly for having a book on Ossama bin Laden, but was later released without any action.
His wife Daliara Bibi and three children (one son and two daughters) are waiting for justice without much hope though. In fact Daliara was pregnant with third child for seven months when Mustaque was arrested and youngest daughter Sanjida Firdaus has never seen his father.
Speaking to TCN, Mustaque’s wife Daliara Bibi said that she can never forget that fateful day when his husband was brought home handcuffed. Police had entered her bedroom forcibly, took one thousand rupees cash that was in the almirah, laptop, few books, etc, she said, adding that no ‘illegal’ stuff was there. She further said that her husband is innocent and that all allegations against him are fabricated. She was forced to sign on a white paper too she added.
Daliara Bibi fails to understand why her husband is in jail even after five years, if police has failed to even file the charge-sheet.
Hassanuzzaman and his family:
Hassanuzzaman was a Para-teacher of Mathpara Primary school, who lived at Mahammadpur under the Ward no 11 of Jangipur Municipality area. He was only 21 years old when he was arrested. His mother Fatema Bewa was crying continuously for her “innocent son” when TCN contacted her.
She alleged that without even any proven charges her son has to spend his precious days in dark cell of the Baharampur prison. Is keeping beard or being devout Muslim a crime, she asks? She also told TCN that when the police had come looking for Hassanuzzaman, he was incidentally not home at the time and hence they had brutally beaten her other son Afzal Hossain, who had already sustained fracture due to a train accident.
She too accused the police of falsely implicating her son and alleged that all charges against her son are fake.
They are too poor to bear the cost of the trial, but are thankful to the benevolent advocates and some human rights organisations who have come forward for help.
Support from civil society:
Advocate Murshid Jahangir has been one ray of hope for both the families who is fighting this case from the beginning for free.
The Murshidabad wing of the Association for Democratic Rights (APDR) has started a campaign against the CID and is now demanding immediate released two under trials Mustaque and Hasanuzzaman, who they think are innocent.
Murshidabad District secretary of Bandi Mukti (Prisoner relief) Committee, which is also pressing for their release, Swapan Sannyal told TCN, “All charges against Mustaque and Hassan are fabricated as they had no relation with any anti-national elements, and hence they should be released immediately.”
Mother of Hassanuzzam, widow Fatema Bewa crying for her son.
State Secretary of Bandi Mukti (Prisoner relief) Committee, Choton Das added, “Innocent people like Mustaque and Hassanuzzaman were arrested possibly only because they are Muslims.” He pointed out that even after the regime change in the state, the mentality of the police force has not changed.”
Pointing to the loopholes in CID’s claims, he said that the charges against them are “unnatural.” CID had alleged that they distributed incriminating leaflets in Urdu and English in the Jangipur locality. Census data clearly shows that the literacy rate in the Murshidabad district is very low and most people speak Bengali. Why they were distributing leaflets in Urdu and English and not in Bengali, he wonders.
Choton Das also said that every Muslim household has Quran and some Islamic literature and their possession does not make one anti-national. Condemning the police ‘communal bias’ he wanted to know why police has not filed the charge-sheet yet. He demanded their immediate release.
State Secretary of All India Minority Youth Federation, Md Kamruzzaman too criticized the ‘anti-Muslim mindset’ of the police force and demanded their immediate release if charges have not been proved against them,
State Secretary of SDPI, Taidul Islam said that SDPI leaders have met the Murshidabad district police officials several times and demanded the release of Mustaque and Hassan, but they showed no seriousness.