By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Jalna (Maharashtra): The city unit of Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind (Maharashtra) has demanded the state government to provide security to its state president Maulana Nadeem Siddiqui and one of its senior criminal lawyers Tahur Pathan.
Tayyab Bapu Deshmukh, secretary of Jalna unit of Jamiat, on Tuesday sent a memorandum of demand to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis through the city collector demanding protection for the duo on the basis of continuous threats received by them.
Advocate Pathan is a senior criminal lawyer, who assists Supreme Court lawyer Mahmood Pracha in all the cases undertaken by the Jamiat. Advocate Pracha too received threats last year from underworld don, following which Mumbai police provided him protection.
From Left to Right : Adv. Tahur Pathan, Adv. Mahmood Pracha and Maulana Nadeem Siddiqui
There are many high profile cases in which Pathan and Pracha are representing terror accused. Some of the main cases of this duo are – appeal against conviction to Himayat Baig in German Bakery blast case; Mansoor Peerbhoy in Indian Mujahideen cases in Mumbai and Delhi; Maulana Abdul Qavi in a POTA case registered in Gujarat and Pune’s JM road blasts accused.
The memorandum alleges that Siddiqui and Pathan have been receiving threats as they provide legal assistance to the terror case accused. Last year both were injured in a suspected hit and run incident that occurred near Nanded when a vehicle hit their four-wheeler from rear.
“State will be solely responsible,” the memorandum reads, “if anything happens to them.”
“We are an old social organisation registered in 1919 that works for various social causes. Helping the innocent implicated in terror cases is one of such work,” it clarifies at another place.
Last week Advocate Pathan was injured along with his wife when his bike was smashed from rear at a signal fracturing his leg. His wife was admitted in the hospital for three days and was released after being operated. The community members initially suspected it to be a targeted attack due to Pathan’s nonstop services in getting justice for the innocents but the possibility was then ruled out.
Community members respect and admire Pathan’s efforts and hence are concerned for his safety from anti-national elements. Therefore they requested Jamiat to demand protection for him from the government.