By India Tomorrow News,
Jaipur, 27 March 2014: Leaders and representatives of various civil society groups held a joint press conference here on 26 March to denounce the police for violating all the rules and procedures while detaining the youths earlier this week in Jaipur and Delhi.
This past Saturday and Sunday, six youths were picked from Jaipur and Delhi allegedly for hatching a conspiracy to disrupt the Lok Sabha elections and target some politicians. However, three of the youths were released Sunday night by the Delhi Police for lack of any proof.
After detaining the youths, the police told media that they have recovered huge quantity of explosives from the possession of the arrested persons. Prem Krishna Sharma, Rajasthan president of People’s Union for Civil Liberties, alleged Police did not follow set judicial guidelines while making such recovery. “The Police have not said that in whose presence these materials were recovered and if they took signature of any witness,” Sharma said while addressing the press conference held at Indiana Classic Hotel in Rajasthan’s capital city Jaipur.
Agreeing with Sharma’s views, Mohammad Salim Engineer, Secretary, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said that in all these arrests, rules have been grossly violated. “Neither any warrant shown nor neighbours taken into confidence while detaining or arresting these youths,” said Salim.
Biased Media Reporting
He criticized a section of the media for taking the job of court in their hand and declaring the detained youths as terrorists soon after the detention.
Several other leaders of the civil society also denounced media for the biased and unprofessional reporting on these arrests.
Sawai Singh, Coordinator of Sadbhav Manch Rajasthan, said media declared Merajuddin (who was picked from Jaipur) as a dreaded terrorist but the very next day the Delhi police released him finding him innocent. The biased reporting “has sullied the image of Merajuddin and his family,” said Singh.
Merajuddin’s father Neyazuddin who was also present at the press conference asked mediapersons: Who is responsible for making a bad image of my son? How will he now go to college with his classmates?
He said his image has been tarnished in the society and it is a big insult for him.
Woman social activist Nisha Sidhu said political parties are trying to take political mileage of the issue. “They are trying to provoke sentiments of Hindus to create hatred and rift among people,” she alleged.
Qari Moinuddin, Convenor of Rajasthan Muslim Forum said Police have maligned their own image by detaining innocent students. But “Fear and terror have griped the entire Muslim community,” he said.
My son is innocent
Relatives of some of the arrested youths also talked to the press.
Jawed, uncle of Maroof, said his nephew is completely innocent. “He is a simple religious person; he has been wrongly arrested,” he claimed.
Taslimuddin, father of Waqar Azhar, another arrested youth, also said his son is innocent and he has been implicated in the case. His neighbour couple Vidya Nand Sharma and Sumitra Devi said Waqar is a good boy and they know him since his early days and they love him more than their sons.
The civil society leaders warned that if the arrested boys were not released, they would hold a big protest demonstration on Friday (28 March) at Moti Dungri Road in Jaipur.
