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‘Has Emergency been declared?’

Village protests the innocence of the Delhi blast suspects and the treatment meted out both by the press and police

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Village protests the innocence of the Delhi blast suspects and the treatment meted out both by the press and police

AZAMGARH: “They are innocent.” That’s one statement greeting every mediaperson who weaves his way through the serpentine lanes and by-lanes of Sarjanpur village in Azamgarh district. 

A tense silence and a look of righteous indignation pervades among the locals.
“Saif was a good cricketer... the police and the media have made him a terrorist,” said Mudmil, a close friend of Saif, who was arrested after the Jamia Nagar encounter. “He had come here about a month ago and we played cricket. He was casual and happy... he didn’t look tense or worried... I can never believe that he suddenly became a terrorist,” he added.

Mohd Nissar, a close relative of Saquib, another terror suspect whom the Delhi Police had brought along, said: “He is a brilliant student. He used to go to the gym in the morning, work during the day and go for his MBA classes in the evening. Where was the time for him to plan out these elaborate bombings? This is all a creation of the police. Whenever there is a big incident, the police have to prove their worth... someone has to be made a scapegoat.”

A few days ago, mediapersons were roughed up here by locals angry with the “malicious” media coverage related to the Delhi blasts and investigations that followed. As Shakeel, a resident of Jalandhari, pointed out: “My brother is also a student of Jamia... the media is carrying such stories that it seems all young Muslim boys who go out to study are either working for Simi or Indian Mujahideen.”

Residents of Sarjanpur village were especially enraged over the way search operations were carried out on Tuesday. “Are we terrorists?” fumed young Shahnawaz. “The police barged into our houses early in the morning when our women were still asleep. Has some sort of an Emergency been declared?” he seethed.

g_deepak@dnaindia.net
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