NEW DELHI — “You will see a time when the worst communities of the world will oppress you and relish you as their prey. Despite your majority, you will be hunted and killed in the most humiliating fashion. But it’s God’s promise that ultimately you will dominate only if you acknowledge your sins and keep repenting and seeking God’s mercy.”
The above-mentioned Facebook post by Zaid Pathan, an Indore-based rights activist, was enough for the Madhya Police to send him behind bars on August 14 for “deliberately outraging religious feelings, promoting enmity between different religious groups, doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony and making statements conducing to public mischief”.
And when the authorities did not find the alleged offences grave enough to incarcerate him for a longer period as he would have secured bail from a court of law, they subsequently booked him on August 15 under the draconian National Security Act (NSA) — which empowers the government to detain a person for up to 12 months without a charge.
However, it was scrapped and he was released on October 14 after the police failed to convince the high court advisory board — where the accused can appeal without a lawyer, representing him during the trial.
Pathan has been a vocal critic of the Madhya Pradesh government’s policy of bulldozer justice. He has worked against the illegal demolition of Muslim homes in the state, and also fearlessly raised his voice in the Khargone riot case.
He reiterated that the administration “targeted” Muslims in their demolition drives, particularly those who acted in “self-defence” (during the Kahrgone riots) against Hindu mobs. He said that based on fake FIRs lodged by the “culprits”, the authorities “targeted” Muslims, especially those who stood against the atrocities, including activists, and demolished their homes, bulldozed their shops, and other important properties.
He was vocal about the “arbitrary” action of police officials. He tried to save innocent Muslims from being “falsely” implicated in the case and managed to get bail in several cases.
“As a result, I was slapped with an FIR under Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) on April 14 in Khargone,” he told TwoCircles.net soon after walking out of an Indore jail.
This story was originally published in twocircles.net . Read the full story here