A large cross-section of Muslims in the city claim that the investigating agencies probing the 11/7 blasts are “unfairly targeting” members of their community on charges of complicity.
MUMBAI: Even terror probes trigger terror. A large cross-section of Muslims in the city claim that the investigating agencies probing the 11/7 blasts are “unfairly targeting” members of their community on charges of complicity.
While some Muslim intellectuals and activists complain of a “collective bias” of the police force and the government, others voice concerns about Muslims being “branded culprits” once again.
Syed Akhtar, vice-president of the Bandra-based Secular Activists’ Watch, a social action group, told DNA on Tuesday, “It seems that the investigations are being carried out with an agenda against the Muslims. This is no proper probe — the police can’t even distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.”
Editor of Hindustan Urdu Daily Sarfaraz Arzu echoed a similar view. “It’s a lop-sided investigation. There seems to be a sinister design behind it.” Some from the minority community have openly voiced discontent in sharing private information with the police.
Also, they have to “cope with the humility” of being repeatedly summoned to the Anti-terrorism Squad’s (ATS) office in Byculla or the Crime Branch headquarters at Crawford Market.
Representations have been made to Police Commissioner AN Roy by Muslim bodies against the “randomness” on part of the investigating agencies in picking up the minority community members, and detaining them without assigning any reason. Even scribes are not being spared. Investigators went to the office of a city-based English daily to run check on an editorial staff who happened to be the namesake of Raheel Sheikh, a Lashkar-e-Tayiba activist suspected to have masterminded the 11/7 blasts.
ATS chief KP Raghuvanshi told DNA from Delhi, “We can’t deny that some innocent people belonging to a particular community are being inconvenienced by the method of investigation. But we are left with no other alternative than to question individuals (we feel should be questioned) to reach to the real culprits.”
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