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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Educated Muslims being hounded: Owaisi

Mumbai: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has flayed what he termed as a ‘media trial’ in the alleged TCS Nashik conversion case and claimed that educated Muslims youth are being deliberately targeted as part of planned ‘hate campaign’, here on Saturday. Reiterating full faith in the judicial process, Owaisi said that justice cannot be handed out through media narratives or television debates and the law must be allowed to take its own course. “We are seeing a very dangerous trend… Now,...

Educated Muslims being hounded: Owaisi

Mumbai: AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi has flayed what he termed as a ‘media trial’ in the alleged TCS Nashik conversion case and claimed that educated Muslims youth are being deliberately targeted as part of planned ‘hate campaign’, here on Saturday. Reiterating full faith in the judicial process, Owaisi said that justice cannot be handed out through media narratives or television debates and the law must be allowed to take its own course. “We are seeing a very dangerous trend… Now, educated Muslims are being picked out for orchestrated allegations and media campaigns. This doesn’t augur well for society and justice itself with the media playing the role of the judge and jury,” said Owaisi sharply. Flanked by the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen state President Imtiaz Jaleel, Owaisi also emphatically said that it was wrong to link his party with the TCS case prime accused Nida Khan, “who will be ultimately proven innocent in the courts”. He expressed concerns over the slur campaign driven by malice and political motives against his party as well as Nida Khan in some sections of the media even before the investigations were completed or a judicial scrutiny. “Merely because some allegations have been hurled at a young woman professional, attempts are being made to paint her ‘guilty’ through media trials, even before judicial scrutiny. But, we have complete faith in the judiciary and are confident that the court will eventually exonerate her,” asserted Owaisi. Public Discourse Raising questions on the probe and accompanying public discourse with stress on the alleged recovery of certain ‘evidence’ from Nida Khan’s home, he sharply questioned: “Since when have a burqa, a niqab or religious literature become objectionable… Is wearing a hijab now regarded as evidence of a crime?” He said that these details along with baseless allegations are sensationalism in the media to create further prejudice against the minority community and reflected a deep-rooted hostility aimed at harassing educated Muslim men and women. Owaisi pointed out that a complaint in the TCS Nashik case was filed by a leader linked with the ruling party, and as per the software giant’s statement, Nida Khan was not with its HR Department and transferred even before the controversy erupted, contradicting several media reports. Of the nine cases lodged in the matter till date, in one case, she was accused of hurting religious sentiments, but nobody can comment on it before the court pronounces its verdict, he pointed out. Court Fight Dismissing attempts to drag and link the AIMIM into the row, he referred to a party Municipal Corporator Matin Patel who was booked merely on the basis of certain allegations and vowed to contest the matter in the court. Here Owaisi cited multiple examples of educated Muslims being scrutinised – including in Delhi when some educated youths were arrested for possessing a book by the legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and they were later released. There was another one from Allahabad where some Muslim boys were targeted for writing an Urdu ‘sher’ (couplet) prompting judicial intervention, and predicted that even in the Nashik TCS case, the truth will ultimately prevail as no criminal charges against Nida Khan may stand. AIMIM to set up voter help-desks AIMIM President and Hyderabad MP, Asaduddin Owaisi said his party is developing a digital application containing electoral records of all 288 Assembly constituencies in Maharashtra for 2002-2024, to help voters in the SIR process. For this, the AIMIM will set up help desk centers in its strongholds to facilitate the process and ensure proper utilisation of voter data. Alleging discrepancies in electoral records, he said such errors create huge problems for the voters, especially the poor or illiterates. Owaisi mentioned how of the nearly 27 lakh names placed in the adjudication list in West Bengal, “90 pc were poor Muslims.” These centers would be open for all Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Dalits, Adivasis and the general public needing assistance with the electoral records.

‘All eight victims from minority’

Mumbai: The alleged sensational sex scandal in Amravati took a political turn with the Maharashtra State Minorities Commission (MSMC) rubbishing what it termed as ‘grossly exaggerated’ claims about the number of suspected victims and their videos circulating on the sordid incident.


MSMC Chairman Pyare Khan said a fact-finding team sent to Amravati has completed its probe and found “there are only eight victims”, including a couple of minors, all belonging to the minority community.


“There are merely six to eight videos linked to these victims and around a dozen other photographs that are found. The claims of 180 girls or their video are absolutely baseless. The former MP Navneet Kaur Rana and others are spreading blatant falsehoods, to foment communal disturbances,” an irked Khan told ‘The Perfect Voice’.


Police Version

Amravati (Rural) Superintendent of Police Vishal Anand categorically stated on Thursday that the investigations so far have identified a limited number of victims and digital evidence. He emphasized that forensic analysis of the devices seized from the two accused have not indicated any large-scale circulation as being claimed in certain quarters.


Anand further urged citizens and political leaders to refrain from sharing unverified content, warning that these actions could hamper the investigation and disturb public peace. A SIT is working on digital forensics, support for the victims, and tracking other potential suspects, while assuring that stringent legal action will be taken against those found guilty as well as against individuals spreading rumours.


Probe Report

To a query, Khan stated that MSMC’s preliminary report will be submitted directly to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for further action, maintaining that its findings corroborate the conclusions of the Amravati Rural Police.


“Our priority is to ensure justice for the victims and maintain communal harmony,” he asserted.


Slamming irresponsible political statements, Khan said on one hand, PM Modi and Fadnavis are working for women’s upliftment but on the other their efforts are being negated by certain elements who malign women and disturb harmony.


Initial reports pointed to a much larger network with over 180 victims and 350-plus sleaze videos of the girls that led to protests and communal tensions, which turned out to be exaggerated.


The delicate situation had escalated briefly, with reports of unrest but the local police stepped in and prevented any flare-up, as the ongoing investigations indicated that though the case of sexual exploitation was indeed serious.


NCW Directions

Taking suo motu cognisance of the case, the National Commission for Women on Friday directed the state’s DGP to conduct a time-bound probe into the matter. An Action Taken Report has been sought from the state police within five days.


The arrested accused

The Amravati Police have so far arrested at least eight alleged perpetrators including a collegian Ayan A. Tanveer Ahmed, 19, reportedly the kingpin who is a former social media handler of All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM). His associates include: Uzer Khan, 20, Tabrez Khan, 20, Mohammed Shad, 22, Manav Deepak Sugandhe, 20, Aifaz Mansur Khan, 26, Iram Mohammed Sajid, 21, Shaikh Naved Hassan, 21. POCSO charges have been added by the police.

A place ostensibly used to lure the victims has been sealed and other punitive action taken against some of the accused, including bulldozing a portion of a building used for the illegal activities.



"There is no need for leaders like Navneet Rana in the BJP, which follows the motto of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. Hence, she should be expelled from the party. I will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah with this demand."

Pyare Khan, Chief, Maharashtra State Minorities Commission

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