The nondescript Muslim outfit responsible for organising the protest is known for its proximity to NCP leaders.
PRAMOD CHUNCHUWAR Mumbai
The Raza Academys reputation has been seriously dented after Saturdays viol
ence left 5 people dead and another 100, including 45 policemen, injured.
However, the state government has decided to go soft on the outfit, which has been accused of inciting people.
This is primarily because of its proximity to NCP leaders Sohail Lokhandwala and Nasim Siddiqui.
It is understood that it was Lokhandwala who facilitated the Academy and helped it secure police permission to hold a rally at Azad Maidan.
Lokhandwala, a key Muslim leader, is an erstwhile MLA of the Samajwadi Party.
Even though leaders of Raza Academy on Sunday offered an unconditional apology to the media and Mumbaikars for the widespread violence on Saturday and sought their forgiveness, the Home Ministry is acting coy in the matter and is not inclined to take action against the outfit.
A senior official of the Home Ministry even claimed on Sunday that the Academy does not have any connection with rioters. alt39alt39 It was an act of miscreants,alt39alt39 the official said.
In July 2006, a mob had lynched three police officials after two persons died in police firing in Bhiwandi. The mob was protesting against construction of a police station next to a mosque.
Then, too, the role of Raza Academy had come under the scanner. After the
attack, Home Minister R. R. Patil pussyfooted in the matter and took six months to arrest Yusuf Raza, the president of the Bhiwandi unit of Raza Academy. Then, too, the name of Nasim Siddiqui had cropped.
The Raza Academy on Sunday put out an apology. The statement says, alt39alt39 The people who indulged in violence cannot be Muslims. No Muslim would dare to do anything like this during a Ramzan fast.
Some mischief mongers have taken advantage of the situation,” Academy president Mohammed Saeed Noori told IANS. Noori and a few of his colleagues formed the Raza Academy in 1978. Noori has been the president of Raza Academy from 1986 till date. The stated objective for establishing the academy was to print and publish books written by Aalahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza and other writers from the Ahlesunnat Jamaat.
