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Police arrest Muslim leader for Neemuch violence, recommends NSA
Ghulam Rasool Pathan was arrested after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed the district officials to take strict action against those who were trying to create tension, and to resolve the matter swiftly.
BHOPAL/ NEEMUCH: Days after Neemuch town in Madhya Pradesh erupted in violence following an attempt by Hindu organisations to install an idol near a Muslim shrine, the state police on Thursday arrested the head of the town’s Muslim Intejamia Committee and recommended that district collector Mayank Agrawal invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against him for his alleged provocative speeches.
On Sunday, Hindu organisations attempted to install an idol of Lord Hanuman near a Muslim shrine in Neemuch’s Purani Kacheri area, leading to stone pelting and arson by a mob. The administration seized the idol on Tuesday.
Ghulam Rasool Pathan, head of Muslim Intejamia Committee, was arrested on Thursday, two days after chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan directed the district officials to take strict action against those who were trying to create tension, and to resolve the matter swiftly.
“I have been receiving information regarding a few people who are misguiding youngsters to create tension. The administration should take strict action against them,” the CM had told district officials at the review meeting.
After his arrest, Pathan supported staged protests at the district collector’s office, and police had to resort to force to disperse the crowd.
The Muslim community said that the administration was taking “biased actions” and alleged that instead of taking action against the Hindu organisations involved in Sunday’s incident, the administration was targeting Muslims.
Harun Rashid, a local leader of the community, said, “Immediately after the CM’s direction, they arrested Ghulam Rasool Pathan. Pathan is a reputed person in Neemuch and he was not even present at the spot when the tension erupted. Pathan is ill and was taking treatment and had met the collector to maintain peace and harmony in the district.”
Meanwhile, VHP district president Anu Paal Singh Jhala said, “We want the reinstallation of the idol as it was installed at the right place. The administration doesn’t have any problem with encroachment by Dargah caretakers but they have an issue with the installation of the idol. The district administration hurt the religious sentiments. We have called a bandh on Friday to register our protest.”
District officers said they are acting as per law.
Neemuch superintendent of police Suraj Verma said, “For the past one year, Sadar Ghulam Rasool Pathan is trying to polarise the Muslim youth. He was staging protests and giving memorandums on international matters to fill the young minds with hatred. He also called the chief minister and home minister terrorists. On the day of communal tension, Pathanwas not present on the spot but was directing people over the phone. We have call details.”
The SP said he had written to the collector to invoke NSA against him.
Agrawal, the district collector , said, “According to revenue department papers of 1936, the Purani Kacheri has two dargahs and a temple on the premises. But a few people were trying to encroach upon the land by installing an idol of Lord Hanuman. We seized the idol and will install it in a proper place. The administration of the Dargah encroached upon some government land so we will also clear the encroachment.”
(with inputs from Mustafa Hussain from Neemuch)
