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Assam Muslims fear backlash after 16 arrests over pro-Taliban posts, say community may be blamed

In the past four days, 16 Muslims have been arrested for pro-Taliban posts on social media, including an MBBS student, a constable with the Assam Police, a teacher and a journalist.

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Guwahati: Since Friday, 16 Muslims have been booked by the Assam Police for allegedly supporting the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan on social media and this has led to widespread fears of a communal backlash amid the minority community in Assam.

According to Muslim residents of the state, the entire community could now be “blamed” for pro-Taliban sentiments.

“We strongly condemn the social media posts. The entire community may be blamed because of some unruly people. We don’t support radicalisation at any cost. There are those trying to politicise the situation. But we are very clear, we will not fall into this trap,” said Abdus Sabus Tapader, an advocate with the Gauhati High Court and secretary of the Assam Civil Society, an apolitical organisation of prominent Muslims in the state.

The body has also sent out an advisory, a copy of which has been accessed by ThePrint, asking all Muslims to remain vigilant to such social media activity.

Arrested between Friday and Monday, the 16 accused include a 23-year-old MBBS student, a constable with the Assam Police, a teacher and a journalist among others.

Nearly all of them have been booked under the anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and were arrested from 12 districts across Assam — Darrang, Kamrup (Rural), Cachar, Barpeta, Baksa, Dhubri, Hailakandi, South Salmara, Goalpara, Hojai, Karimganj and Kamrup (Metro).

G.P. Singh, Assam Special DGP (Law and Order) had earlier confirmed to The Indian Express that “most of the arrests” were made under sections 120-B, 153-A, 505-1c and 505-2 (conspiracy, posting of defamatory content, religious offence) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 39 (support to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA

Three maulanas are among those arrested and one of them, 49-year-old Maulana Fazul Karim, was a general secretary in All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the state’s opposition party, and also secretary of the state unit of the Jamiat-e-Ulema — a national organisation of Islamic scholars.

However, an AIUDF spokesperson told PTI that Karim has been suspended from the party.

Meanwhile, Hitesh Chandra Roy, superintendent of police (SP) in Kamrup (Rural), where two individuals — Abu Bakkar Sidique alias Afga Khan Avilekh (55) and Saidul Hoque (29) — were arrested said that the investigation was ongoing against the accused.

He told ThePrint that Hoque, who is a constable of the 21st Assam Police India Reserve Battalion, has been remanded to judicial custody for two days.


Also read: CRPF constable in Army uniform held with over 1,000 suspicious photos in Assam


Fear amid Muslim community

With these arrests, the Muslim populace in the state fears the situation could turn communal. They said that it was unfortunate that a handful of arrests had the potential to bring down the entire community.

“There is a fear that posts like these might communalise the situation. But it is important to remember that those arrested do not represent Muslims in Assam. We don’t support fundamentalist thought. And the Assamese Muslims are least bothered about the Taliban,” Hafiz Ahmed, president of the Char Chapori Sahitya Sabha, a literary body in Assam.

According to Hafizul Ahmed, chairman of the Goria Development Council, a development council for ‘indigenous’ Muslims, strict action should be taken against those arrested.

“The Assamese Muslims disapprove of such acts. They should be socially boycotted. Strict action needs to be taken against anti-nationals,” Ahmed told ThePrint.

“There is an overwhelming condemnation by the Muslim community of any post which is even remotely supportive of Taliban coming to power. Every Muslim I know is supporting the arrests, no one is even asking difficult questions like why are they charged under UAPA,” said Aman Wadud, a human rights lawyer from Assam.

“The Muslims of Assam have always been law-abiding, the question of social unrest is not only ridiculous but insane.”


Also read: Why Mizoram vs Assam is a BJP project to ‘integrate’ northeast gone wrong


Can they be booked under UAPA? 

Meanwhile, some questions have also arisen over whether the police can slap anti-terror charges against individuals over a social media post.

According to the state police, they can.

“The arrests are related to giving support to a terrorist organisation. UAPA has been slapped because the Taliban is branded as a terrorist outfit. The social media posts by the accused glorified the Taliban,” said Amitava Sinha, SP at Barpeta, where two individuals, 25-year-old Mozidul Islam and 32-year-old Farul Hussain Khan, were arrested.

According to Gaurav Upadhyay, SP at Hailakandi, Nadim Aktar, the 23-year-old MBBS student of Tezpur Medical College who has been arrested, had “celebrated the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan” in his social media posts.

“We were curious and wanted to know how someone doing his MBBS could post them. But when we analysed his social media footprint, it was beyond any doubt that he had been radicalised. The Taliban is a banned organisation and support towards it called for the UAPA being slapped,” Upadhyay told ThePrint.

Lawyers, however, disagreed with the assessment.

“If someone was simply talking about the Taliban, that individual cannot be slapped under a draconian law like the UAPA. India has not designated the Taliban as a terrorist outfit. The accused in Assam were talking about Afghanistan, not India,” Supreme Court lawyer Anas Tanwir told ThePrint.

Kaushik Choudhury from Assam, who is also a Supreme Court lawyer, voiced similar sentiments.

“Supporting a terrorist organisation is morally incorrect. But on the legal aspect, the question of whether such support towards the Taliban via social media posts will apparently attract the provisions of UAPA is something technical,” Choudhury told ThePrint.

“The FIRs have been registered under Section 39 of the UAPA against the 15 arrested persons, apart from other penal provisions under IPC. Section 39, however, cannot be slapped with mere support to a terrorist organisation. An offence will be committed only when the support is invited for a terrorist outfit, with an intent to further the activity of such an organisation,” he added.

The court, he said, will have to find out whether a Facebook post supporting the Taliban will amount to inviting support to help activities of the organisation. “If no such facts are revealed, there is a less likely chance that UAPA will be slapped in such cases.”

According to Wadud, “The Taliban are extremely violent people, so much that Afghans are trying to flee their motherland clinging to the tail of airplanes, they brutally murdered Danish Siddiqui and mutilated his body. I am very surprised with any sane people sympathising with the Taliban.

“But charging people under Section 39 of the UAPA will not hold any water before the court as the Government of India is yet to designate the Taliban as a terrorist organisation.”

(Edited by Rachel John)


Also read: Assam & Mizoram Police stay put at disputed border despite pact that CRPF would take over


 

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