Hyderabad cops admit goof-up during raid

Hyderabad Police Commissioner B Prasad Rao has denied that the police had picked up Baleeghuddin Jabir, son of controversial religious figure Moulana Naseeruddin who has been imprisoned in Ahmedabad in connection with the Haren Pandya murder case.

Prasad Rao, however, admitted that the behaviour of the police during the raid and search of the house of Moulana Naseeruddin's family needs to be looked in to as there were complaints of some highhandedness and violation of the 'purdah' norm.

"The family has made a representation to our officers that women were not allowed to wear 'purdah' and their religious sentiments were hurt by this," he told rediff.com when asked about the complaints of Moulana Naseeruddin's wife Tasneem Fatima that about 50 policemen in plainclothes had barged in to her home when no male member.

"We repeatedly pleaded with the police that they should allow us to wear 'burqa' (veil) as we can not come out before the strangers," she told the rediff.com.

She complained that even the lady police were using filthy language and some of them even choked their mouth to stop them from saying any thing.

Prasad Rao said the family has been assured that such mistakes will not be repeated in future and their sentiments will be taken care of.

The police commissioner said police had gone there in search of Baleeghuddin Jabir as he was an accused in a case of criminal conspiracy registered at Gopalapuram police station.

"Our people searched the house for him and did not find him there."

Rao denied the allegation of the family that Baleeghuddin Jabir, third year student of engineer was in police custody. 

"If we had caught him, we would have announced it. We did not find him there and he might have gone in to hiding."

But Tasneem said she had told the police that Jabir had gone to the mosque for prayers and he might have been picked up there.

"The police has a record of picking our family members in an illegal manner and announcing their arrest after a few days," she said.

Jabir is the fourth member of the family to come under the police scanner in last four years in connection with the terror-related cases.

His father and founder of a religious organization Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Shaaer-e-Islam (Movement for Protection of Symbols of Islam) Moulana Mohammed Naseeruddin was arrested by Gujarat police in Hyderabad in October 2004.

It was followed by the arrest of his youngest son Nasir in Belgaum by Karnataka police on terror related charges and he is still in jail. Muqeemuddin Yasser, a MBA graduate, was arrested a couple of months ago in connection with the same criminal conspiracy case in which now Jabir is wanted, Yasser is in Charlapally jail of Hyderabad.

Moulana Naseeruddin is close relative of another religious figure Moulana Abdul Aleem Islahi, whose eldest son Mujahid Salim was shot dead by the Gujarat police during the arrest of Moulana Naseeruddin. His other son Motasim Billah was arrested by Hyderabad police a few months ago in a criminal conspiracy but later court released him.

It was in Moulana Islahi's Madarssa that Mufti Abu Bashar, arrested by UP Police in connection with bomb blasts taught for two years.