‘Stop harassing innocent Muslims for Akola riots’: JIH urges Maha CM

Mumbai: The Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH) on Thursday wrote a letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde demanding a halt to the “unilateral persecution and prosecution perpetrated on innocent Muslims” for the Akola riots last week.

JIH president Hafiz Ilyas Khan Falahi called upon the Chief Minister to inquire into the circumstances leading to the Akola tension on May 14 which led to clashes and the death of one person.

According to some accounts, there was an offensive social media post after which some local Muslim youth informed the police.

However, as they were leaving the police station, the police personnel were assaulted by some anti-social elements, then they went around damaging several private and government vehicles, targeting homes of the people and even the Tarab Ali Mosque, even as the town was clamped under prohibitory orders for two days, and tight security continues to remain there.

“Despite the quick response by the police, many innocent Muslim youth, who are totally unrelated to the violence were wrongfully detained and are targeted,” Falahi pointed out.

Demanding that the mosque defiling incident should be probed separately by lodging a formal FIR, Falahi urged Shinde to ensure that strict action is taken against those responsible for it.

“We request you to kindly refrain from arresting or targeting the innocents who were in no way involved in the violent incidents,” urged Falahi in the letter.

He also urged the CM to take prompt action even in the Ahmednagar (Shevgaon) violence that erupted the next day, as certain groups were allegedly attempting to create rifts among different sections of the people.