By Syed Khalique Ahmed
NEW DELHI: The cold-blooded murder of 66-year-old politician Baba Ziauddin Siddique on October 12 evening outside his son’s office in Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, has shaken the political class, particularly the Muslim politicians and activists.
The reason for the Muslim intellectuals and middle class, including politicians, getting disturbed over the murder of a three-time MLA is that he did not have any political or business rivalry for which he was killed.
The only reason for his murder coming through social media platforms is that he had stood with Bollywood star Salman Khan who is facing a case for hunting two blackbucks in a village dominated by the Bishnoi community in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan in 1998. Bishnois are a community who are opposed to animal killing and believe in preserving nature.
Media reports – print and digital – say that it was gang members of Lawrence Bishnoi currently in Sabarmati jail in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad – were behind the murder of Baba Siddique.
The reason the Bishnoi gang members are learned to have offered is that the politician had supported Salman Khan accused of killing blackbucks in an area dominated by the Bishnoi community. Police, at present, also suspect the hand of the Bishnoi gang in the gunning down of Baba Siddique who had migrated from Bihar and settled down in Mumbai about four decades ago.
Baba Siddique was previously in the Congress party and had in February this year switched over to NCP (Ajit Pawar). His MLA-son Zeeshan Siddique joined Ajit Pawar’s group in August this year. Ajit Pawar group shares power in the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction)-BJP government.
As Baba Siddique allegedly faced threats from the Bishnoi gang, he had been provided security by the state government. Lawrence Bishnoi has been convicted in four criminal cases in Punjab on charge of extortion, murder, attempt to murder, and offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Canadian police have claimed that the Bishnoi gang is allegedly connected to Indian agents behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist leader and a Canadian citizen. Canadian allegations suggest the Bishnoi gang has government patronage which the government of India has strongly denied. Nijjar’s murder and Canada government’s allegations against the Government of India has led to diplomatic tension between India and Canada.
But what is surprising is how Lawrence Bishnoi is running his gang’s activities from inside the Sabarmati Central Jail. How is he in touch with his gang members from inside the high-security jail? And what is the interest of Lawrence Bishnoi in running an international criminal racket? Likewise, was the affiliation of Baba Siddique with Salman Khan such a big crime that Bishnoi got him eliminated?
Baba Siddique was no rival to Bishnoi or any of his gang members? Neither Bishnoi nor any of his gang members are known to have any political ambitions or interests in Mumbai that led to their rivalry with Baba Siddique. Nor is the hunting of blackbucks such a heinous crime inviting the attention of a criminal running an international criminal racket?
But one thing is very clear about Baba Siddique. He had earned a position for himself in Maharashtra politics despite being a migrant from another state. He had developed connections with all important Who’s Who in Bollywood and became an important Muslim political personality in the state.
The question arises: Was Baba Siddique targeted for his political ascendancy and emerging a popular Muslim political figure? There is no evidence for this theory. But circumstantial evidence suggests that whichever leader has gained popularity among Muslims as well as non-Muslims in politics and earned some influence in politics has become the target, particularly in BJP-ruled states in the last one decade. Some have either been killed at the hands of criminals despite being in police custody and some face long incarceration, with the media creating a narrative about them having criminal backgrounds though much bigger politician-criminals from non-Muslim communities with more serious and heinous crimes are roaming free. The housing and commercial properties of several Muslim politicians have also been demolished.
We all know how a five-term MLA and a sitting MP Ateeq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down on April 15, 2023, while being taken for medical check-ups on court orders in UP’s Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad). Two days before (April 13, 2023), Ateeq’s son – Asad Ahmed – was killed in an encounter in Jhansi. Ateeq Ahmed and his family held a lot of political clout in Prayagraj and nearby districts. As for dozens of criminal cases against them, there is hardly any politician in UP who does not have criminal cases registered against him. What their killers said during police interrogation was that they wanted to earn a name and fame by killing Ateeq Ahmed and Ashraf. Surprising indeed!
Their residential and commercial properties and those of their close relatives worth hundreds of crores of rupees in Lucknow and Allahabad were also bulldozed by authorities. Sixty-seven of their flats in Allahabad were confiscated and allotted to unprivileged people. The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) also demolished the houses and commercial properties of several aides of Ateeq Ahmed and his relatives. No law permits the demolition of properties for someone’s crime. But this was perhaps done to create fear among Muslims.
We have also seen how a narrative was built around the persona of politician-criminal Mukhtar Ansari as if he were the only criminal in UP politics. When he was transferred from Ropar jail in Punjab, Mukhtar and his family demanded that he be kept in Punjab jail only because they feared that he would be killed in UP. Though he was not killed in encounter, his son alleged that his father was administered slow poison in food while being kept in Banda jail. Subsequently, he died in Banda district hospital. The post-mortem report, however, rejected the allegation and said the death of Mukhtar Ansari took place due to cardiac arrest.
Likewise, former minister and former SP strongman Azam Khan has been in jail for the last couple of years owing to several criminal cases against him. Jauhar University of which he is lifelong chancellor also faces uncertain future because of UP government’s hostile attitude.
In Prayagraj, local administration and police demolished the house of activist and general secretary of the UP unit of the Welfare Party of India Javed Ahmed, on the allegation that he had conspired to organize a protest against the indecent remarks of BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammed on Times Now channel on May 27, 2022. In a democracy, taking out protests or peacefully organizing them is not a crime. But there seems to be a pattern running through all these incidents: Terrorize and demoralize Muslims so that they cannot raise their voice against the BJP’s agenda. The reason given for his house’s demolition was that it was built without seeking approval from the concerned government authority. But question arises: Was only Javed Ahmed’s house was built illegally in Prayagraj? Are there no other illegally built houses in that city? Did the government carry out a survey of legally and illegally built houses in Prayagraj? What does this indicate? Target those Muslims who are articulate and lead the community in times of crisis.
This is a very dangerous trend. In Lucknow, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) demolished more than 1200 houses in Muslim-dominated Akbargnagar while it did not bulldoze a neighbouring Hindu-majority colony though both of them were illegal by LDA’s standard. The law should apply equally to all.
All these systematic incidents are likely to generate a sense of insecurity among Muslims and give birth to anti-social elements and criminals like Lawrence Bishnoi and those who shot dead Ateeq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed, just for fun and, that too, in police presence.
Will civil society pay heed and raise its collective voice against these selective injustices?
