Don’t arrest Muslims in terror cases wrongly: Sushil Kumar Shinde

NEW DELHI: Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has asked state governments to ensure that Muslims are not arrested wrongly or with mala fide intentions in terror cases, setting off a political storm and calls for his resignation.


Shinde on Monday wrote to all state chief ministers saying that the central government has been receiving various representations alleging harassment of innocent Muslim youth by law enforcement agencies. “Some of the minority youth have started feeling that they are deliberately targeted and deprived their basic rights…. Government has to ensure that no innocent person is subjected to undue harassment,” he said in his letter.

Shinde said while the government was committed to combatting terrorism, agencies should be sensitive to communal and social harmony while ensuring zero tolerance for terrorism. Shinde asked states to take strict and prompt action against erring police officers “where there is mala fide arrest of any member of minority community wrongfully arrested” and ensure that those wrongfully arrested are released immediately with suitable compensation and rehabilitation. The home minister also urged the creation of fast-track courts to handle terror-related cases and said these cases be given priority over others.

His letter comes in the wake of reports of disquiet in the Muslim community over what it perceives to be wrongful confinement of its youth in terror cases. Many such youth have been let off following investigations, but many of them struggle to rebuild their lives pick often find their lives destroyed. Several Muslim organisations have blasted the government on this issue in recent months. Shinde’s colleague, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan, too had written to him earlier expressing concern over wrong arrests of Muslim youth in terror cases. A recent report of National Crime Records Bureau ( NCRB) showed that 21% of undertrials in India’s jails were Muslims, with their proportion in jails of Maharashtra (36%) and West Bengal (46%) was higher than their representation in the general population.

But the main opposition BJP termed Shinde’s directive as unconstitutional and communally divisive and asked him to immediately withdraw the letter.

“Shinde is either ignorant or has forgotten the Constitution. He should recall his oath of office in which one takes the pledge of serving without any bias to any religion, caste or creed. If Shinde had issued the letter without associating the religion of the person it would not have been an issue. Had he used the word Indian — of any religion — then it would have been better. Shinde should be sacked with immediate effect for dividing the country on communal lines,” BJP leader Rajiv Pratap Rudy said. Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu accused Shinde of indulging in vote-bank politics.

“Shinde’s statement ‘minority youth wrongfully detained to be released’. What about other innocents detained? Should they be kept illegally?”
Sushil Kumar Modi of BJP on Twitter.