People's Democracy

Concern over Wrongful Detention of Muslim Youth

ON November 17, Prakash Karat, general secretary of the CPI(M), led a delegation to meet the president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, regarding the targeting and persecution of scores of Muslim youth in terrorism related cases. The memorandum submitted to the president demanded the following:

1) Compensation and rehabilitation for the innocent persons implicated in such cases.

2) Provision of special courts with time bound procedures to settle cases within a year.

3) In cases where the court has held that evidence has been concocted or misrepresented by the investigating agencies to implicate innocents, action must be taken against those responsible.

4) The draconian provisions in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act must be reconsidered and removed.

The other members in the delegation were Subhashini Ali, member of the CPI(M) Central Committee, Mohd Yusuf Tarigami (MLA, Jammu & Kashmir and member of the CPI(M) Central Committee), Sehba Farooqui (member, CPI(M) Delhi state committee) and three young men who were jailed for long periods and then acquitted by the courts. They are Mohammed Aamir from Delhi (in jail for 14 years), Maqbool Shah from Srinagar (jailed for 14 years) and Syed Wasif Haider from Kanpur (in jail for eight years).