Hyderabad/Mumbai: The Nashik TCS conversion case has triggered a major political controversy, with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi coming in defence of the main accused, and two Maharashtra ministers demanding action against the Hyderabad-based political party.
The ruling Mahayuti coalition in Maharashtra comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Sunetra Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
All-India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi defended both Nida Khan, the suspended TCS employee, and AIMIM corporator Mateen Patel, from whose house Khan was arrested last week in Naregaon, Maharashtra.
Khan was accused of hurting religious sentiments as well as attempting to influence a victim to adopt Islam. Patel was detained two days after Khan’s arrest.
Both Khan and Patel, the AIMIM chief asserted, would be proven innocent in the court.
Reacting to their arrest, Owaisi said that educated Muslims have been targeted. “Our worker will present his case in court. No one can be declared guilty based solely on accusations. The filing of an FIR does not mean he is guilty,” he said Monday, alleging that the case has been given a political hue.
On Tuesday, Maharashtra minister and Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Shirsat, while speaking to reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, called for an inquiry into the AIMIM, and especially its Maharashtra leader Imtiaz Jaleel.
“Why was Nida Khan running? Who helped her hide? She went to Mumbra, then came to Sambhajinagar, an AIMIM corporator helped her hide, she stayed there for 35 days. If you haven’t done anything, why are you hiding? Nida Khan is a relative of Imtiaz Jaleel. And the way he defended her, he should also go to prison,” Shirsat said.
Shirsat also questioned Owaisi’s defence of Nida Khan.
“They are openly supporting Nida Khan, which means they are also traitors. Owaisi is a barrister. Doesn’t he understand the law? If a person is named in the FIR, is he not an accused? Ultimately the court will decide if she is guilty or not, but for now she is an accused,” the minister added.
On Sunday, Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Nitesh Rane dubbed the AIMIM “a terrorist organisation” and compared Owaisi with the slain al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Rane also called for a ban on the party.
Last week, after Khan was arrested, Jaleel had said that the party will stand behind her with all its strength, if she is being made a scapegoat.
“I have said on a public platform that when we read the FIR and looked at her alleged role, there is nothing. I have clearly said that if she has committed an offence, we will not stand by her, but if what she is saying is right, then we will stand behind her with all our strength,” he told reporters Saturday.
“There is a difference between an accused and an offender. Till the allegations are proven, she is not an offender.”
Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik had confirmed Patel’s role in supposedly hindering the legal process among others. An FIR (first information report) has been filed against Patel under Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for assisting Khan in evading the police and legal action. He was also questioned in Maharashtra’s Sambhaji district, where he resides, although the case was registered in Nashik.
Trouble seems to be mounting for Patel with the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar civic administration planning to demolish his two-storey house in Naregaon over allegations of illegal construction.
“This is a regular process of the municipal corporation. Our encroachment division issued a notice to show us papers of the house where Nida Khan was kept. We will take action once we receive a reply,” Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Mayor Sameer Rajurkar said Monday.
The civic administration stated that it intended to disqualify Patel under Section 10(d) of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, for aiding or constructing unauthorised and illegal structures.
Patel is learnt to have approached the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district court seeking a stay on the demolition, claiming that the notice issued to him was illegal. He has also sought two weeks to respond to the civic body’s notice.
Owaisi and several AIMIM leaders have been defending Patel, alleging this was a case of political targeting and a media trial.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is investigating the nine FIRs linked to alleged sexual harassment, molestation, hurting religious sentiments and attempts at religious conversion at the TCS BPO unit in Nashik.
There were complaints by women employees that they were allegedly pressured to perform prayers, wear religious attire, and consume non-vegetarian food. Khan, meanwhile, has been sent to police custody till 11 May.
With inputs from Manasi Phadke in Mumbai
This is an updated version of the copy with statements of the Maharashtra ministers
(Edited by Tony Rai)