By Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi: The local Muslims and their leaders including former and present MLAs on Wednesday foiled the Delhi police’s “attempt to arrest” septuagenarian Delhi Minorities commission (DMC) chairman, and eminent scholar and journalist, Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan from his residence in South Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area on Wednesday evening.
A heavy contingent of police descended on Dr Khan’s house at the very time of Iftaar( breaking fast) to “whisk away” him for questioning in connection with the ‘sedition’ case file against him by the police at the behest of a person for his Facebook post thanking “Kuwait for expressing solidarity with Indian Muslims”. Dr Khan, who has been under media-trial since speaking up his mind on the ‘persecution’ the Muslim community, did corporate with police but refused to going with them citing the law provisions in time of deadly pandemic.
Dr.Khan’s family members said that the heavy police squad comprising around 40 personnel had allegedly come to ‘arrest’ him. According to them, Dr. Khan was asked by the police to accompany them as he was wanted for questioning in a case of sedition registered against him. However, the police team was forced to abandon the idea of arresting him as local people in large numbers gathered in support of Dr. Khan at his residence. That might have deterred the police plan of arresting him at time when Muslims were engaged any busy in their iftaar .
His counsel and noted human rights activist, Vrinda Grover said that his client “Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan is a senior citizen of 72 years age and he suffers from old age related physical illnesses that make him extremely vulnerable to the Covid-19 coronavirus. The law as per section 160 CrPC mandates that the police cannot compel attendance of a person above 65 years age at any place other than that their residence for the purpose of investigation and interrogation.
“You are required as per law to question / interrogate Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan only in his residence and you cannot compel him to go to any police station.”
“As Dr. Zafarul-Islam Khan’s lawyer I am hereby placing on record that as per law you cannot compel him to go to the police station. That would violate the CRPC and amount to illegal police action against the rights of my Client”, she stated in her notice to the police.
According to family sources, Police personnel talked to Dr. Khan for about one and a half hour on different issues. “The Police have called Dr. Khan for questioning at their office on Monday but they did not produce any warrant”. Their plan was probably to arrest him. But soon a large crowd gathered outside his house and did not disperse until Dr Khan appeared in his balcony and waved his hand at them.
The police demanded Dr Khan to hand them his laptop and mobile phone which he refused to do demanding to produce written orders.
Common people as well Muslims leaders expressed their outrage over the police action who reached the spot in hordes in spite of fast breaking time. They pointed out that Dr Khan might have been on the radar of the Delhi Police because as chairman of the minority panel, he put the police force on the mat for their acts of commission and omission on many occasions. Particularly, the Minority commission worked a proactively during the February anti-Muslim riots in North West Delhi, they added.
Sitting Aam Aadmi party MLA Amanthullah Khan and former Congress MLA, Asif Mohammad Khan also reached at his house and expressed their shock and anguish over the Police’s attempt. By this act, the police want to silence the voice against injustice and oppression as Dr Khan always speaks truth and stands with the persecuted people, they said.
All India Muslim Majlis-e- Mushawarat president Navaid Hamid condemned the raid of police at Dr Khan residence who is also a former president of Mushawarat.
Hamid said in tweet that he condemned the “police raid” on Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan’s home just before Iftar on a concocted sedition case”.
“Condemns police raid on Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan’s home just before Iftar on a concocted sediation case. Delhi Police has exposed its prejudice once again. It is scared to take actions angst real culprits of Delhi’s anti Muslim riots but hounding Muslims.”
Registering his strong objection over Delhi Police raid Syed Sarwar Chishti , Khadim Dargah Ajmer Sharif said. ‘ Instead of arresting the real culprits of Delhi’s Anti-Muslims riots, Delhi police is conducting raid on DMC Chairman Dr. Zafar-ul-Islam Khan’s home just before iftaar on a concocted sedition case which is highly deplorable’.
#Indian_Muslims_in_danger
Social Democratic Party of India leader Dr Taslim Ahmad Rehmani said if a person of the stature of Zafarul Islam khan who heads a constitutional body is being harassed and humiliated by his own home state police on flimsy ground, then what else is Islamophobia?
Do you (the government and police) think world has closed its eyes? Dr Rehmani asked.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind president Syed Sadatullah Hussaini and Vice President Er. Mohammad Saleem called on Dr Khan and expressed their solidarity with him. Welfare Party of Indian leader Dr S Q R Ilyas described the police action uncalled for and attempt to cowed downing of Muslim leadership would not succeed.
Popular Front Chairman OMA Salam has strongly condemned the raid by Delhi Police on the residence of Dr.Zafarul Islam Khan who is the chairman of Delhi Minority Commission.
In a statement Salam said “This action by the Delhi Police has crossed all limits of civil decency. The Police is being used by the BJP government to harass and crush any type of dissent. It is actually a very shameful situation that just a statement by a respected person bearing a statutory position becomes a pretext for police raid in his residence. There is no logical explanation for the raid. It can be clearly understood that such an act is only carried out to harass Dr. Khan and give a warning to others who are critical of the policies of central government.”
O M A Salam also called upon the civil society to strongly condemn this authoritarian act of raid and stand in solidarity with Dr. Khan.
Locals underlined that the Police team deliberately chose a time to raid Dr Khan’s house when Muslims were usually busy in Iftaar preparation.
A case under Section 124A and 153B pertaining to sedition and promoting hostility between communities was registered on the complaint of a resident of Vasant Kunj society who is said to be closed to right-wing group. In a tweet, Dr. Khan expressed thanks to Kuwait for raising the issue of Islamophobia by Hindutva bigots in India.
We should be ready for a long-long fight against the Hindutva juggernaut which is running amok.