By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
Mumbai/Lucknow: In Uttar Pradesh where Samajwadi Party has the power to do justice for Muslim youths falsely implicated in terrorism cases, it continues to drag its feet on its poll promise. While in Maharashtra where it has only three MLAs and powerless to do anything in this regard, the party has decided to launch indefinite protest asking release of innocent youths and arrest of guilty officers.
As the Samajwadi party government in Uttar Pradesh faces flak from the civil society members for failing to deliver on its poll promises of releasing innocent Muslim youths languishing in jails for years; the Mumbai unit of the party is on ‘indefinite dharna’ at the Azad Maidan for four days now against the Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra for failing to deliver justice to innocent Muslims youths, who were fabricated by the Mumbai Police Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS).
Abu Asim Azmi speaking at the Azad Maidan.
It should mentioned here that for 39 days now the Rihai Manch (Forum for the Release of Innocent Muslims imprisoned in the name of Terrorism) is on indefinite dharna outside the UP Assembly since May 20 demanding arrest of police officers involved in Khalid Mujahid’s murder, issuing the RD Nimesh commission report and action report, and the immediate release of innocent Muslim youth imprisoned in the name of terrorism.
Abu Asim Azmi, Maharashtra state unit President of SP has said that he and his party will fight for justice for those innocent Muslim youths who were arrested on fabricated charges in the Malegaon terror cases, adding that the police officers involved in fabricating charges must be brought to justice. He also had words of praise for police officers like martyr Hemant Karkare who arrested the Hindutva extremists involved in terror cases. Azmi, however, was silent on the cases in UP.
Meanwhile, Rihai Manch has accused the UP government of protecting Kosi Kalan (Mathura) Blast accused linked to saffron terror groups. Earlier it has also compared the extra judicial ‘murder’ of Khalid Mujahid with the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, and has demanded the SP government to take actions against the erring police officials and to probe the links between intelligence officials in all terror related cases.
Rihai Manch dharna in Lucknow.
The suspected involvement of senior IB officers in the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case as given credence to the involvement of intelligence officials in terror cases and botched up investigations that often wrongly arrested Muslim youths. Family members of Khalid Mujahid and civil rights groups have been questioning the role of intelligence officials in Khalid and Tariq Qasmi’s arrest as well.
Khalid along with Tariq Qasmi was arrested by Special Task Force (STF) on 20 December 2007 from Barabanki. Huge explosives were also shown as recovered from his possession. STF claimed that he was involved in the serial blasts which occurred in Gorakhpur, Faizabad and Lucknow. Later, Nimesh Commission was constituted headed by Justice R D Nimesh who in its report raised fingers over STF’s claim about the place of arrest.
Khalid had died under mysterious circumstances on his way back from Faizabad near Ram Sanehi Ghat on May 18. He was declared brought dead by the doctors at district hospital in Barabanki. Later, on the complain of his uncle Zahir Alam Falahi, a case was registered against 42 police officers including former DGP Vikram Singh, ADG Brijlal and others who were on duty during the time of Khalid’s arrest.
Rihai Manch is leading a sustained demonstration against the UP government for last 39 days demanding actions on its poll promise of releasing innocent youths languishing in jails in fabricated terror charges. Several rights groups and individuals have also expressed their solidarity with the Manch demonstration and on different days made token participation.