Sushil Kumar Shinde’s promise doubted as acquittal fails to end trouble for Muslim men

NEW DELHI: Seven months after he was cleared of terror charges and released from a Bangalore prison where he had spent six harrowing months of his life, 28-year-old Muthi-ur-Rehman Siddiqui heard about Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde's overture towards falsely implicated Muslim youth with some scepticism.

"I heard Mr Shinde said this Monday that such youth should be released and helped to rehabilitate back in society. Well, I would only appeal to the home minister that the government first return my identity documents and belongings so that I can get along with my life," Siddiqui told ET from Bangalore.

Without any help from the government, he this May got back what was dearest to him -his job at a newspaper where he worked as a reporter when Bangalore Police arrested him in August last year for being the ' mastermind' of a 15-member LeT terror plot to eliminate some right-wing political leaders in the state.

"My organisation reinstated me, they even paid me my arrears. I now work on the desk. I am slowly moving on with my career. I finally also found myself a decent place to stay," Siddiqui says, recounting the difficult days after his release when numerous houseowners refused to give him a flat on rent to stay in Bangalore.

Others have not been so lucky. Aijaz Ahmed Mirza was arrested along with Siddiqui and subsequently released on not being charge-sheeted. But the DRDO, where he was working on a two-year-long junior research fellowship terminated the same this February, days before his release. DRDO is now not taking him back and with his certificates and mark sheets with the police, Mirza is unable to find a job elsewhere.

Life is still not completely normal for me for the same reason, says Siddiqui. That is because a late night check at a police checkpoint may very well become another harrowing experience as his every identity document (ID) - his voter I-card, PAN card, driving licence - are still with the prosecuting side. So are his ATM cards, cheque books, certificates, his mobile and his laptop, all of which were seized upon his arrest. "I have no ID. I cannot travel by train to my home in Hubli or anywhere as I have no ID...I have to go by buses. I cannot easily withdraw money from the bank. It's a big headache," he says. Since June, Siddiqui has been making trips to court pleading his documents and belongings be released as he was discharged from the case. "It all ought to be a very simple process. But Mirza and I are still waiting," Siddiqui says. Noted lawyer Mehmood Pracha, who has fought many cases for such minority youth implicated on terror charges.