Imagine being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Perhaps having the wrong name, in that wrong place. Imagine landing in jail, being tortured and beaten for that unfortunate conjunction of destiny and birth. Presumably our investigative agencies do track down real terrorists based on real intelligence and forensic evidence. But all too often in the rush, panic and clamour after a 'serial blasts' incident, the police often make random arrests, construct a narrative that soon turns out to be completely bogus.
Of late, it's always the case that within hours of a blast the police and intelligence starts mouthing terms like HuJI, LeT, IM and SIMI. It's happening in Mumbai now where a certain Faiz Usmani has already died in police lock-up. It happened, most infamously, in Hyderabad after the Mecca Masjid blast in 2007. As it turned out, the state police just made up its mind about who'd done it—it was simply a matter of catching some unfortunates and producing them as terrorists. Take the story of Ibrahim Ali Junaid, then a student of Unani medicine in Hyderabad. For a month he was questioned by the police and told that he must know who did it for "we know you Muslims are terrorists". He was then taken into police custody for six days where he was beaten and given electric shocks as the police tried to extract a confession from him. He spent five months in jail, was subjected to narco-analysis and finally, after paying bail of Rs 50,000, he was released.
Hyderabad I.A. Junaid Picked up after Mecca Masjid blast, '07. Subjected to narco-analysis, jail. (Photograph by P. Anil Kumar)
After the Mecca Masjid blast, the state police first arrested about 60 boys, let some of them off, while 28 were sent to jail. All were eventually released as each case soon turned out to be completely false. Later, the state minorities commission appointed an advocate commissioner to prepare a report on allegations of police abuse. The report found that "most detainees carry tell-tale signs of bodily abuse obviously not self-inflicted" and even when they were in judicial remand "they were unable to have these injuries recorded even before the magistrate". The report stated that "all the detainees believed they were picked up and ill-treated because they belong to a particular community".
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In Andhra Pradesh, at least there was an inquiry of sorts. The situation is far worse in Maharashtra, according to Suresh Khairnar, a Nagpur-based activist who's been tracking terror cases and arrests for years. "No one is willing to listen here and the agencies keep spreading lies and innocents keep getting arrested. Some people imagine it is a secular government in Maharashtra. But let me tell you, after Gujarat we have the most communalised system here. The media is also complicit in spreading lies." Tellingly, Maharashtra holds the record for the highest number of custodial deaths in the country.
Till now, no human rights commission or activist group has put together an all-India figure for the numbers of Muslims arrested after each blast who turn out to be innocent. We have to put together the sorry saga, case by case, blast by blast. After the 2006 Malegaon blast, for instance, 115 Muslims were arrested. Over the years most managed to get out, brutalised and tormented, but at least free men. Nine still remain behind bars. Again, the NIA has said that the Malegaon blast was the handiwork of Hindu extremists like Sadhvi Pragya, but the local MCOCA court and state police insist on holding the Muslims. In March this year, the bail application of the nine accused was again rejected although the Swami Aseemanand confession has put an entirely different perspective on the story.
No one really cares about the fate of people like Adnan Mulla who ran a small business supplying milk in Mumbai. He was picked up in 2003 by three policemen of the crime branch who tried to get him to admit that he was involved in the blasts in Mulund, Vile Parle and Mumbai Central. It was over a month before he was produced before a court and then the torture of police remand began, first in Shahpur taluka and then at the crime branch office in Crawford Market. "I was questioned, tortured and beaten by the policemen. They were constantly telling me to confess my crime. I asked them what crime have I done to confess? They kept saying, accept the fact that you are involved in the Mulund blast and confess that you knew the plans. This went on for months." His parents and elder sister saw his condition and in desperation even told him to confess to whatever the police was saying. But Adnan refused and says, "I never signed any paper they gave me". After six years and 11 months, he was granted bail by the high court on the condition that he mark his presence every day at the police station. He says, "The crime branch have no evidence but have made me an accused in three blasts. They have ruined my life."
Jaipur Dr Ishaq Arrested after '08 blasts. Out on bail. But son now in jail. (Photograph by A.H. Zaidi)
Perhaps in the case of Adnan it was just a random arrest of a man who the authorities saw as dispensible. At other times, individuals pay a heavy price for a passing connection with someone suspected of being a terrorist. In Jaipur, Dr Ishaq, a 60-year-old ayurvedic practitioner, was picked up in connection with the 2008 Ahmedabad and Jaipur blasts. He says, "My crime is that the man allegedly involved in these blast incidents had stayed with me for 15 days as a tenant. Everyone in my area has known me for several decades now. I have no record that they should question my integrity to the country." He was arrested on August 15, 2009, and is now out on bail. But the family continues to pay a price. The father is out but his student son has been put behind bars. "Our life is an endless misery," says Ishaq.
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This majority is the collateral damage of terrorism. Take the story of Faiz Usmani's death, still fresh in the news. His only crime, if one can designate it as such, was that his brother Afzal is an accused in the Ahmedabad blasts. There was nothing to suggest Faiz was a terrorist. If one goes by the police version, then the man died because he forgot his blood pressure medication while concerned policemen were rushing around him, trying to give him his pills, take him to hospital. Their version suggests they only wanted to have a polite chat with him in case he had any terror links as his brother was a suspect character. We will never really know what actually happened to Faiz Usmani as he is now quite dead. But there are so many human wrecks who have revealing stories to tell about the heavy-handed methods of the police in our country.
Stereotypes beamed at us by popular media and the Hindu Right often present the Muslims as both overt and covert supporters of terrorists. But the reality is that every time a bomb goes off and innocent civilians die, it is the minority community that is gripped by anxiety. In the short term, they are the ones who face all the harassment. In the long term, such incidents polarise society, fuelling the agenda of forces who are anyway anti-minority to begin with.
By Saba Naqvi with Chandrani Banerjee
| ALSO IN THIS STORY |
INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN Convenient fall guys or homegrown terrorists? Who are the Indian Mujahideen? |
INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN We are none the wiser one week on |
BHATKAL How a bustling Muslim town is carrying the burden of undeserved infamy, head down—and hurt |
AUTHORS: SABA NAQVI
TAGS: TERRORISM | MUSLIMS | TERROR IN INDIA | RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION | POLICE & SECURITY FORCES | SIMI | INDIAN MUJAHIDEEN
SECTION: NATIONAL
SUBSECTION: COVER STORIES
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JUL 24, 2011 04:18 AM 8 | >> "Till now, no human rights commission or activist group has put together an all-India figure for the numbers of Muslims arrested after each blast who turn out to be innocent." This is a sad commentary on the state of affairs. There seems to be very little concern about this in the majority community. |
JUL 23, 2011 10:41 PM 7 | Fellow citizens you got to realise opening TV channels is becoming a highly commercially successful business. And these businessmen focus on things, real or imagined, that can make their channel popular and bring in the moolah through billions of dollars of potential advertising revenue. Recent scams have clearly identified the links between politicians and media personnel, including those who are 'highly regarded' amongst their fraternity. We have Congress aligned channels, we have BJP aligned channels, we have Karunanidhi channels, we have Jaya channels, the list goes on and on ....... Media gives a toss to the plight of 'common man', they just play by the tunes of powerful (that by the way includes police as well). I may not agree with the whole contents of this article but I do agree with most of it. Even for 'non-terror' related cases it takes someone 'powerful' or 'rich' or both to get a case registered. For ordinary poor folks they are shoo'ed away or at times police solves their case on the spot by taking money from the warring parties and settling it in favor of the one who paid bigger amount. Let's be honest here, stories of this nature ar endless. It is about time, all educated citizens (regardless of what ever faith they follow), should raise their voice against any injustice committed against fellow citizens regardless of what ever region, religion, language, caste, they belong to. |
JUL 23, 2011 10:17 PM 6 | I doubt if even media persons also have some links with the terrorist organisation out side India who want to destroy this country with the help of insiders. Whoever support these outside terrorist groups should be hanged if their slightest support is established. No matter what community/religion they belong to. |
JUL 23, 2011 05:52 PM 5 |
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JUL 23, 2011 05:48 PM 4 | What do you expect from followers of a religion who are taught to behave different in majority and minority? In minority they teach Quran(which has few peace messages) and when in majority they teach Hadith(which is violence, blood shed, rape, force and conversion at knife point). |
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