Harassment and torture of Muslim community in the name of ‘countering terrorism’

An interim report of the Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Commission, investigating into allegations of police abuse on minority communities in that state, reveals how the Muslim community is being specifically targeted in the name of ‘countering terrorism’.

The report notes that Muslims are being picked up without being given any reason, kept illegally in police detention for long periods before being produced before a magistrate, physically and mentally tortured and insulted on account of their faith.

Some of the features noted by the advocate Commissioner and the medical forensic expert who had gone with him as part of his investigation team include observations such as: (excerpts from the report)

• That most detainees carry some tell-tale signs of bodily abuse obviously not self inflicted
• The fact that none were noticed when they went for judicial remand shows how they were even unable to make those injuries recorded when they were produced before Magistrates
• That there were allegations of beating on soles of feet by leather or rubber objects
• That there are noticeable 1 mm to 2 mm scars noted around nipples indicative of electricity or needle entry
• That all detainees voice the perception that they have been persecuted for the faith the have and subscribe to, Islam
• That these persons all have the feeling they are being picked up and ill-treated just because they belong to a particular community

As part of the discrimination of the Muslim community, the Commission notes that the investigations into the bomb blast at Mecca Masjid, in which most of the casualities were Muslims, was carried out with much less rigour and seriousness than the investigations into the twin blasts at Gokul Chat and Lumbini Park. The fact that following the blast at Mecca Masjid, the police fired on the angry people, killing several more, is yet another instance of the attitude of the state towards the community.

The report notes the fact that after any and every incident of a bomb blast, people of the Muslim community are specifically targeted by the police. Simultaneously, public pronouncements are made by the state agencies and the media, linking it to names associated with alleged ‘terrorist Muslim groups’ in India and abroad, even before any evidence can be accessed. It also notes the extremely offensive, high-handed and communally biased manner in which the police personnel have been dealing with persons of the Muslim community, accusing them of being ‘jehadis’, questioning their patriotic credentials, etc., all of which has led to a great sense of insecurity and outrage within the community. People of other communities too have severely condemned these atrocities against the Muslim community.

Organising terrorist activities, in which ordinary people are killed and wounded is the preferred weapon used by the reactionary ruling circles in India and the world over, to divide the unity of the people and divert their struggles. The state must be roundly condemned for these terrorist attacks and its inability to protect the lives of people. The efforts of the state and its agencies to target one specific community and thus break the unity of the people and hide the real hand behind these dastardly activities must also be roundly condemned.